LIFE AND LETTERS OF 

FATHERS PONZIGLIONE, SCHOEN- 

MAKERS AND OTHER EARLY 

JESUITS AT 

OSAGE MISSION. 



SKETCH OF ST FRANCIS' CHURCH, 
LIFE OF MOTHER BRIDGET. 



BY W. W. GRAVES. 



Copyrighted 1916 By W. W. Graves. 



Published by W. W. Graves, 
St. Paul^ Kansas. 






ii 



A 



OCT 23 I9J6 



'CI.A4453UG 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapti:r 1. — Fathe;r Ponziglione. 

A Royal Missionary, I 

Bom a Real Count, ^ 

Deported by Revolutionists, 4 

His Troubles in Rome, 6 

His Journey Westward, 7 

His Labors Among the Osages, . . . . lo 

His Labors Among the Whites, .... 14 

Celebrates His Jubilee, I9 

Jubilee Poems, 23 

Father Paul Leaves the Mission, .... 30 

Active Life in the North, 33 

Fifty Years a Priest, 35 

Interpreter Aids in a Confession, - - i7 

Encountered the Benders, 37 

Preached Strong Sermons, 39 

Slept With Ranchmen, 4^ 

Lost on the Prairie During Bliz? 1, . . 43 

Kept ''The Faith" Alive, L 45 

A Bogus Nephew, 45 

Mistaken for a Spy, 4^ 

Narrow Escape from Drowning, .... 48 

First Pastor of Ottawa, 4^ 

Largest Sunday School in the World, . . 50 

Newspapers Notes, • • 53 

Chapter H.— The Apostlk Oi? South Eastern 
Kansas. 

In the Wilderness, . 5^ 

Looking Backward, 01 

Father Paul's Missionary Work, .... 65 

Chapter TTI. A Non-Catholic's Comment. 

John R. Brunt's Comment on Father Paul, 71 

Chapter IV.— An Appreciation. 

Personal Recollection bv Miss Lizzie Berry, 74 

Chapter V.— Mr. Brewster's Address. 
An Address Before The Kansas Historical 

Society, 78 



CiiAi'TicR Vi.— Lkttkrs Of Fathju Paui,. 
Origin of tlie Osage Catholic Mission, . . 93 

A Mission Desired, gj 

Manual Labor vSchool Established, • * .* 94 

A IVesbyterian Mission, .05 

Osagcs vSettle in Neosho County, ..*.'] 95 
Another 1 'resbyterian Mission, • . .' ! 96 
Catholic Mission [Established, • • i ' ! 07 

Manual Labor vSchool • •' * 07 

Convent Isstablished, •....'.'.* ag 
I'.nlargenicnt— And vSchool Built, .* . * og 

Indian Agency Removed gX 

Annuity f'aynients and Feasting, ... 100 
The American Fur Company, ... 100 
f^.cnefit and Results of Mission vSchool, .' loi 

Osa,ge Scholars j^ 

< )sages Again Remove 102 

A Town Started, .... lox 

F^ioneer of 1851 Relates Fxperiences,* .' ' Toi 

Kansas Church History * 108 

wSt. Patrick's Celebration. . . 100 

Osage fndian Question, ..... too 

Some Reminiscences, . iii 

letters to Miss P.errv, - . ti6 

CUAPTKR VTf.~THK OSAGKS.' 

l.riet fi, story of Osages, ^^c 

heather Schoenmaker's Letter ni 

Interview with Father Paul, x^2 

OlAPTKR \irr.-AxTKCK.)KNTS Of ThE MiSSIoV 

KxH^tUs that Led to its Kstablishment t-^o 

CFrAPTKR IX.-\\^,.:STKRX TndiAN MiSSTONS. 

Au Article From The Kansas Magazine, . 14^ 

CnAPTKRX -Father Dk La Croix. ^ 

Biography of First Missionarv, t6o 

r"^'"? XL-FATfTV^ VaN^ OUTCKEN.ORNK 

Biography of First Jesuit MissiJnarv. T6t 

CuAPTER XTL-Fattter Verrevdt' 
I he^ 1 re.lecess<)r of Father Schoetmiakers. T77 



Chapter XTTI.—Fatuer S( _ 

t8o 



His Farlv Oavs, 



Leaves for the Usages, 182 

C^ens the School, i8j 

Quapaw Indians Admitted to School, . - 186 
Drouths and Grasshoppers, ..... 188 

Troubles During the War, 19^ 

Charters St. Francis' Institution, ... 190 

The Court of Last Resort, 200 

Erects Substantial Buildings, .... 204. 

The First Postmaster, 205 

Organizes a Town Company, .... 206 

Seldom in Court, 206 

Retires from Active Duties, 209 

Fifty Years a Priest, 210 

His Last Days, 213 

A Man of Modesty, 217 

A Man of Courage, 217 

His Introduction to the Osages, . . . . 2i8 

A Letter to The Big Chief, ..... 219 

Chaptkr XTV.— Father John Bax. 

Biograohical Sketch 221 

Father' Bax's First Letter, 222 

Father Bax's Second Letter, ... .233 
Father Bax's Third Letter, '...-. 243 

Death of Father Bax, -^ • ^'^5 

Chapter XA'.— Presidents Oe St. Francis 
Institution. 

Father Adrian Sv^eere. • 254 

Father John Kuhlman, 254 

Father!. R. Roswinkle 256 

Father B. A. Shafifel 25O 

Chapter XVL— Other Early Jesuits. 

Father Adrian Van Hulst, «57 

Father Theodore Heimann 257 

Father T- Logan 257 

Father*!. C. Van Ooch 257 

Father }. L. Settles 258 

Father Phillip Colleton, 258 

Brother Thomas O'Donnell 260 

Father Van Der Hagan 260 

Father Joseph M. Rimmele. ^^ 



Chapter XVIL— St. Francis Church. 

History, Magnitude, Etc., 262 

Father Paul Writes of St. Francis Church, 265 
The Old Log Church, 271 

Chapter XVIIL— Sisters Of LorETTo. 

Sisters of Loretto Among the Osages, . . 273 

St. Ann's Academy Established, .... 276 

Chapter XIX.— Mother Bridget. 

Biographical Sketch, 280 

John Brunt's Tribute, . ! 282 

Margaret Hill McCarter's Tribute, ... 283 
I'ather Paul's Tribute, 286 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Father Ponziglione, Opening 

Home of the Jesuits at Osage Mission, . . 12 

The Old Log Church, 60 

St. Francis' Church, Monastery and School, "J^i 

St. Francis' Institution 108 

St, Ann's Academy, 124 

Father Schoenmakers, 189 

Mother Bridget, 204 

College Hall, St. Francis' Church and 

Monastery, 1890, . . . . w . . . 252 
St. Francis' Church 268 




This picture is made from an oil 
painting made by Edgar Leon, of Chi- 
cago, for St. Paul's Council No. 760, 
Knights of Columbus, and donated by 
the Ccuncil to the Kansas Historical 
Society. The painting is in the Art 
Gallery of the Society at Topeka. 



INTRODUCTION. 

"For min - own part, ■ 

I shall be glad Uo learn of noble men." 

— Shakespmre^. 

The pages of history teem with the achieve- 
ments of military men and of statesmen, but it 
often happens that men who have done greater 
work for humanity are given only passing notice. 
The mission of the military man is to destroy. 
His work characterizes the animal nature of man. 
The statesman has to do with the political and 
business side of life which is more or less con- 
structive and commendable. The humble mis- 
sionary deals with the spiritual and more elevat- 
ing features of life. He substitutes the Cross of 
Christ for the rifle and bayonet. He flies no 
flag. He sounds no bugle call save that of his 
own voice. His uniform is the plain black robe 
of his order. The battles he flghts are battles 
for peace, light and eternal happiness. He goes 
about his labars quietly, without the "blare of 
trumpets," roar of cannon, or the "pomp of 
state," seldom attracting attention outside of the 
limited field of his labors ; but who can say that 
his is not the noblest calling of all- and that in the 
final reckoning his will not be the greatest re- 
ward ? Who can say that mankind does not reap 
greater benefits from the services of the humble 
but sincere missionary than from those of either 
the soldier or the statesman ? These missionaries 
have blazed the way of civilization, raised men 
out of savagery, out of the "slough of despond," 
and "made straight the paths" mankind must 



tread. The effects of their labors reflect far in- 
to the future and generations after generations 
reap benefits therefrom, and many a man has 
thereby been enabled to pass the portals of the 
"pearly gates" who otherwise would have travel- 
ed the other way. 

It is in. an effort to give one of these mission- 
aries, Rev. Paul M. Ponziglione S. J., his true 
place in history, that I have compiled this book. 
He was truly a ''noble man," yet one of the 
humblest among men. He labored without 
pay or desire for or hope of earthly reward, 
yet no man did a greater service for Kansas in 
its pioneer days. The Osage Indians as well as 
thousands of white people today are enjoying 
blessings resulting from labors he so quietly 
performed that historical writers know not of 
them. No doubt many important events in his 
life are not recorded because only few knew of 
them, and in his humility he did not record them 
himself. 

In compiling this book, I feel I cannot do him 
full justice, but as abler writers have not under- 
taken it, I have done my best during the few 
hours I could spare from my newspaper work. 
I have searched all records available and have 
written many letters of inquiry in an eft"ort to 
get accurate information, and I am thankful to 
all those who gave me assistance. I have added 
a number of articles written by others which 
have a bearing on the life of Father Ponziglione 
or give an insight into thei conditions of the 
country at the time he was doing his great mis- 
sionary work in Kansas and what is now Okla- 
homa. I have also added extended references to 
some of his co-laborers here in Kansas and to St. 
Francis' Church. His labors were so closely as- 
sociated with others and with this church that his 
biography cannot be fully told without telling 
something of them. 



I knew Father Ponziglione personally, and re- 
member him as a man below average height, but 
rather stoutly built. He was an old man when 
I knew him, his hair being almost snow-white, 
but he had an elastic step and a cheery smile 
that made one forget his age. He accosted the 
rich and the poor, the Christian and the sinner, 
the friend and the stranger alike with the same 
pleasant greeting that made for him a friend of 
everyone. Altho he wore "purple and fine linen'* 
in his boyhood days, his attire in after years was 
always plain and in keeping with his calling. He 
was always doing good to the needy and worthy, 
yet he did it quietly and sought to avoid pub- 
licity or praise. He was truly a true follower 
of the ''Lowly Nazarene," and is now reaping an 
eternal reward for his fidelity and for his great 
work for humanity and for God. The memory 
of his friendship will always be cherished by the 
writer. 

Yours truly, 

St. Paul, Kansas, 191 6. 



W. W. Graves. 



''Brave men are they zvho push and climb 

Beyond all formulas, 
While the plodding ranks that serve old Time 

Pull back for Time's old way; 
Strong men are they who Hold their own 

On the outposts of the new, 
'Till the world hath to their stature grown 

And seen that false was true." 



THE JESUIT MISSION. 

Just as the sun went down, they heard a murmur of 

voices, 
And in a meadow green and broad, by the bank of a 

river, 

Saw the tents of the Christians, the tents of the 

Jesuit Mission. 
Under a towering oak that stood in Uie midst of the 

village, 
Knelt the Black Robe chief with his children. A 

crucifix fastened 
High on the trunk of a tree, and overshadowed by 

grapevines, 
booked with agonizing face on the multitude kneel- 
ing beneath it. 
This was their rural chapel. Aloft thru Uie intri- 
cate arches 
Of its aerial roof, arose the chant of their vespers. 
Mingling its notes with the soft sur^urrus and sighs 

of the branches. 
Silent, vdth heads uncovered, the travelers nearer 

approaching. 
Knelt on the swarded floor, and joined in the even- 
ing devotions. 
But when the service was done, and the benediction 

had fallen 
Forth from the hands of the priest, like seed from 

the hand of the sower, 
Slowly the reverend man advanced to the strangers 

and bade them 
Welcome; and when they replied, he smiled with 

benignant expression, 
Hearing th© homelike sounds of his mother-tongue 

in the forest. 
And, with words of kindness conducted them to his 

wigwam. 
There upon mats and skins they reposed, and on 

cakes of the maize-ear 
Feasted^ and slaked their thirst from the water- 
gourd of the teacher. —LONGFELLOW. 



The Life and Letters 



=0F= 



REV. FATHER PAUL M. PONZIGLIONE S. J. 



CHAPTER I. 

A ROYAL MISSIONARY. 

''Seek out the man who has God for Jiis guide; 
Nothing to blush for and nothing to hide; 
Be he a noble or be he in trade, 
This is the gent I em an nature has made." 

— N. L. O'D. 

Rev. Paul M. Ponziglione S. J-, (pronounced 
Pon-zee-lo-nee, third sylable accented, long o.) 
was one of those pioneer Jesuit missionary 
priests who had their home at Osage Mission, 
(now St. Paul,) Kansas, and who labored among 
the Osage Indians and the early settlers in south- 
eastern Kansas and the Indian Territory more 
than half a century ago. A desire to carry the 
gospel of Christ to the Indian aborigines of the 
plains was the spirit that impelled him to leave 
the palace of his truly "royal" family in sunny 
Italy to take up his abode in a log hut in the 
wilderness of the prairies where members of his 
race were few and far apart, but where Indians, 
yet untrained in the ways of civilization roamed 
at will, hampered only by fear of the wild beasts 
which then dominated the plains. Few men vol- 
unteer to make such sacrifices as to give up a 
palace for a hut, riches for poverty, ease and 



2 LIFD AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 

pleasure for much labor and many hardships, and 
yet still fewer men have accomplished as much 
good for the world and left behind such a record 
of noble, heroic deeds, such a record of achieve- 
ments. His efforts brought countless blessings 
to these, to him, strange and foreign people, which 
will continue to result in their good for genera- 
tions yet to come. The white man too shared in the 
fruits of his labors and was thereby strengthened 
to face the battles incident to the ''blazing of the 
way of civilization," and the transformation of 
the wilderness into homesteads. Even now, seeds 
sown by Father Ponziglione continue to bear 
fruit that add materially to the welfare of peo- 
ple who never knew him or even suspect the 
identity of the sower. 

BORN A REAL COUNT. 

"Hands that the rod of empire might have sway- 
ed, 

Or ivaked to ecstacy the living lyre." — Gray. 

Father Ponziglione was born February ii, 
1818, in the city of Cherasco, the Tusculum or 
fashionable summer resort of the upper classes 
of Turin, in Piedmont, Italy. His father was 
Count Felice Ferrero Ponziglione di Borgo 
d'Ales. His mother was the Countess Ferrero 
Ponziglione, nee Marchioness Ferari di Castel- 
nuovo, of the Royal family of Italy. The bap- 
tismal name given Father Ponziglione was Count 
Paul M. Ferrero Ponziglione di Borgo d'Aks. 
Besides being a Ferrero and a Ponziglione, he 
was also a Guerra, his father's mother having 
been the Countess of Guerra, the last represent- 
ative in a direct line of that ancient noble family. 
There are male descendants of the Ferreros still 



life: and LKTTERS of father PAUL. 3 

living in Italy, but Father Paul was the last male 
representative of the Guerras and Ponzigliones 
and the direct titles of both of those ancient and 
truly noble families died with him. On his moth- 
er's side, he belonged to the Ferrari, another well 
known historic family of Italy. Marchioness 
Adelaide d'Omera, who resided for years in the 
palace d'Omera in Turin, was his oldest sister. 
It is said that her son Marquis d'Omera signed 
his name d'Oinera Ponziglione in order to pre- 
serve the latter name from extinction. Another 
sister was Baroness Philomena Oreglia di Santo 
Stephano, whose brother-in-law, Cardinal 
OregHa di Santo Stephano, now deceased, was 
Cardinal Dean or Senior Cardinal during part 
of the reign of Pope Leo XIII. 

Father Paul, as he was famiharly known to 
the people of Kansas, was educated as became 
his nobility, according to the customs of his 
country in those days. Hie was first sent to the 
Royal College of Novera, and later to the Col- 
lege of Nobles, at Turin, both conducted by the 
Jesuits. At the end of his college course he pre- 
sented himself before the royal board of examin- 
ers of the University of Turin and won the de- 
gree of bachelor of arts. The education of a 
young nobleman in those days was not considered 
complete until he had won the laurels of doctor 
utrisqiie juris, so Count Paul studied jurispru- 
dence at the University for more than a year. 
While at the University he became convinced 
that he was called to be a priest and a Jesuit, 
and he set about at once to begin preparation for 
his future labors. To become an humble Jesuit 
meant the sacrifice of very much for him, as 
the world goes. At that time his father was still 
very wealthy and the family, in all its branches, 
was among the most influential at court. Indeed 



4 W^t AND LKTTe:RS of FATHER PAUL. 

there were evidences that Count Paul might be- 
come one of the rulers of his country. Count 
Paul realized all this but he relinquished his 
patrimony into the hands of his father, turned 
his back on worldly allurements and prospects 
and entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus 
at Chieri, not far from Turin. He was received 
into the Jesuit Order February 27, 1839. Here 
he was given the ordinary training of young 
Jesuits, and from the beginning enjoyed that 
happiness which characterized his life and which 
was to be to all whom he would ever meet as 
gladdening as laughter and as cheering and 
warming as sunshine. 

DEPORTED BY REVOLUTIONISTS. 

"Now my co-mates and partners in exile 
Hath not old customs made this life more szveet 
Than that of painted pompf Are not these plains 
More free from peril than the curious court?" 

From Chieri, Father Paul was sent to the 
Jesuit college at Genoa and he was stationed 
there at the time the revolution of 1848 broke 
out. Three strong factions were each striving 
for control of Italy in those days. One faction 
wanted a republic, another wanted a confederacy 
with the Pope at the head, while the third want- 
ed a constitutional monarchy under the rule of 
the King of Sardinia. Austria, then as now, was 
recognized as an enemy of all Italy. 

The leaders of the revolution in Genoa began 
their brilhant exploits on the night of February 
28, by arresting eighteen defenceless old Jesuit 
Fathers and marching them in triumph to the 
palace of the governor. Father Paul managed 
to be left behind at the College to nurse an old 



life: and letters of father PAUL. 5 

lay-brother who, on account of his infirmities, 
could not be moved. The revolutionists were not 
yet sure of their course and this is said to have 
also influenced them to hesitate about laying 
hands on a Guerra-Ferrero-Ponziglione, but the 
next day the governor went over to the side of 
the revolutionists and soon after Father Paul 
was marched under heavy escort to the palace. 
At two o'clock on the morning of March i, the 
Jesuits were conducted by a strong military 
guard to the sea coast and put on board of the 
San Michele, the largest man-of-war of the King 
of Sardinia, which had been put at the disposal 
of the governor to aid his faction of the revolu- 
tionists. The prisoners, including Father Paul, 
were kept closely confined for three days in a 
narrow, dingy space like a cellar, in the hull of 
the ship. They were next transferred to a ship 
bound for the gulf of Spezia. The revolution- 
ists had sent word ahead to their confederates 
at Spezia to give the Jesuits a warm reception, 
and it was given by a howling mob armed with 
sticks, stones and clods of dirt. Father Paul was 
struck by a stone and severely injured in the head 
but managed, by the aid of his companions to 
escape into the Dutchy of Modena. The rabble 
followed them to the line, but dared not pur- 
sue them farther, for Modena was dangerous 
ground for revolutionists. After resting a while 
at Massa Carara, the Fathers scattered into the 
mountains, leaving young Paul to shift for 
himself. 

Having, some months prior to the revolution, 
offered his service as a volunteer missionary to 
Rev. Anthony Elet S. J., then superior of the 
western Jesuits in the United States, which offer 
had been duly accepted, Father Paul decided 
to go to the United States. But he had not yet 



6 LIFK AND LETTERS O? FATHER PAUL. 

taken all the steps in his ordination to the 
priesthood, and he set out for Rome to complete 
his preparation for his life work in what was 
soon to be his home across the sea. 

HIS TROUBLES IN ROME. 

Professor Paul, as Father Paul was then call- 
ed, experienced great difficulty in passing over 
into Tuscany, but on reaching the city of Pietra 
Santa he met a good friend who put him on 
board a steamer at Livorno bound for Civita 
Vecchia, and provided him with ample funds for 
the journey. He arrived in Rome just at the 
outbreak of the revolution there. The success 
of the revolutionists in France who had just 
driven Louis Phillipi from the country, gave im- 
petus to the revolutionary spirit in Italy. Pope 
Pius JX issued his Statuto Fitndajuentale March 
14, 1848, in an effort to reorganize the temporal 
government of the papal states by enlarging the 
liberties of the people and especially of the press, 
but it failed to have the desired effect. Up to 
this time, the pope had shown no particular sym- 
pathy with the Jesuits, but he endeavored to pro- 
tect them against the measures brought forward 
for their expulsion. This angered a strong ele- 
ment among the revolutionists and added to 
their fury, and was one of the things that led 
to the assassination of Monsignore Palma, the 
pope's secretary, whom Father Paul knew quite 
well. 

During this stormy period the father general' 
ordered Father Paul and several other junior 
Jesuits to repair to St. Andrea, the famous Jusuit 
novitiate at Rome, there to prepare for the re- 
ception of holy orders. Father Paul was or- 
dained priest on March 25, 1848, by Constan- 



W^t AND LETTERS OI' FATHER PAUL. 7 

tine Patrizi, then the cardinal vicar of the Pope 
in Rome. 

Toward the end of May, 1848, Father Paul 
visited Pope Pius IX, received his blessing and 
departed on his journey toward the land of his 
adoption. His first stop was in Turin, no doubt 
to settle his family affairs. He next went to 
Paris where he arrived in the terrible days of 
the barricades, but managed to reach Harve-de- 
Grace without mishap, where he boarded the 
first sailing vessel bound for New York. 

''No luxury or ease was there 
To lap the traveler into rest, 

But staunch it bore the pioneer 
On tozvard the West." 

— O. M. Harger. 

HIS JOURNEY WESTWARD. 

Ocean vessels in those days were not the float- 
ing palaces which we now have and which cross 
the ocean in a few days. And it was not even 
the best one of the times in which Father Paul 
embarked. It was a wretched craft and the sea 
was stormy during much of the trip. The trip 
to New York required forty-eight days, and 
they were wearisome days too. To add to the 
troubles of the passengers, smallpox broke out 
among them. These trials and dangers were met 
by the young priest with "unfailing cheerfulness 
and unfaltering courage." They were but hard- 
ening him for other hardships which he was to 
experience on the western prairies. 

Father Paul spent his first few days in 
America in New York City, after which he went 
to Cincinnati, Ohio, and spent a month at old St. 
Xaxier college. About this time nearly a hun- 



8 LIFE AND LIvTTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

dred other Jesuits, exiles from Italy and Switzer- 
land, arrived in America, and about forty of 
them, including Father Paul, were invited by 
Rev. John A. Elet S. J., who had been in- 
stalled as superior of the vice-province of Miss- 
ouri, to join the Jesuit colony at the St. Louis 
University. The invitation was accepted. After 
a short stay at the University in order, to familiar- 
ize himself with American ways, customs and 
language, Father Paul was assigned to duty for 
a while at Bardstown, Ky., where the Jesuits 
had just opened St. Joseph's College. A few 
months later he was transferred to missions in 
Alissouri. The records do not show at what 
points in Missouri he was stationed. 

Father Paul left St. Louis on May ii, 185 1, 
for the country of the Osages. Rt. Rev. Bishop 
Miege, who had just been consecrated by Arch- 
bishop Kendrick and assigned to the diocese of 
Leavenworth, was his traveling companion on 
the journey. 

diodes of travel were quite different when 
Father Paul made his first journey to Osage Mis- 
sion from what they are now. We may now 
take breakfast in St. Louis and eat supper in 
St. Paul (Osage Mission) the same day. Father 
Paul made his journey up the ^Mississippi and 
Missouri rivers to Kansas City Landing in a, 
boat. From the boat landing the remainder of 
the trip was made on horseback over the trail 
made by the freighters and Indian traders. All 
supplies at that time were hauled to the Mission 
from Kansas City Landing by ox wagons, and as 
many days were required to' make the trip as it 
now takes hours. No railroad had then pene- 
trated this section. The boats on the big streams 
were much slower than those of today, hence 
the trij) Father Paul had to make to get to the 



life; and Li:TTSRS OF FATHKR PAUL. 9 

scene of his future labors was a weary one and 
required several days. But the welcome which 
awaited him on his arrival was a most agreeable 
surprise. The news of his coming had preceed- 
ed him, and while he was yet several miles away, 
Indian couriers met him to welcome him and 
escort him to his new home. 

Father Paul reached Osage Mission July 4, 
185 1. Bishop Miege accompanied Father Pauli 
to the Mission to look into conditions, for all of 
Kansas was then part of the Leavenworth dio- 
cese over which he had just been placed in charge. 
Their coming on this Independence day meant 
much the same for the Indians as another impor- 
tant event of this day meant for the colonists of 
America three-fourths of a century before. It 
meant the coming of one who was to liberate the 
natives from the bondage of savagery and bring 
them to the ways of civilization, Christianity, 
peace, happiness and plenty. 

Good Father Schoenmakers and his small band 
and the few Sisters of Loretto who were here 
joined with the Indians in prayers of thanksgiv- 
ing for their coming, for there was much work 
to do and few to do it. The above and a few 
scattered traders were the only whites in this sec- 
tion then. Father Paul's coming was like pene- 
trating the wilds of an unknown land. The 
scenes were far different from those of a royal 
household, but this was .the country he sought 
when he left his native land, and he set about his 
w^ork among the Indians with a will and with 
that happy smile upon his face that was for 
years so familiar to the people of Kansas. 

"He tried each ao't, reproved each dull delay, 
Allured to brighter zt'orlds and led the zvay." 

— Goldsmith. 



10 LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

HrS LABORS AMONG THE OSAGES. 

"' — 'Tis time 
Nezv hopes should miimate the world, new tight 
Should dawn from new rev eatings to a race — 
Weighed dozvn so long." 

Father Paul soon learned the language of the 
''Children of the Prairie" and they soon learned 
to love Father Paul. His services and advice 
were sought by all members of the tribe. No 
event occurred among them but he was soon 
informed of it. No feast was held without him 
as a guest of honor. He was always asked to 
partake of the "fruits of the chase" when the 
braves had returned from the hunt. He was 
called upon to administer comfort in times of 
sadness, and to share their happiness in times of 
joy. When he went on journeys they accom- 
panied him to protect him from the perils of the 
then wild prairie, and from the wild beasts that 
lurked in the tall prairie grass. He was known 
in every camp of the Osages, far and near, 
and it is said that in all his relations with the 
Osages they never distrusted him nor offered him 
any bodily harm. On the contrary they looked 
upon him as a leader, guide, and adviser. 
He obtained this good will by his kindness, his 
goodness, by always doing his utmost for their 
good, and by never betraying the confidence they 
imposed in him. It is true that during the 
pei^ilous times at the opening of the civil war 
Father Paul, with Father Schoenmakers and the 
other members of the Jesuit order, were obliged 
to leave the^ Mission for a time and seek safety 
at St. i\Tary's, Kansas, but this was made neces- 
sary by the perfidy of whites rather than by the 
Osages, altho the Osages were then divided 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. II 

among themselves, some siding with the south, 
and some favoring the Union. Most of the boys 
in the Mission schools above the age of fifteen, 
joined the Union army. After an absence of 
eight months at St. Mary's, the Fathers returned 
to their home at the Mission in March, 1862, and 
were later instrumental in persuading the Indians 
from the south to not only spare the Alission but 
also spare Humboldt and other towns farther 
north which the southern Osages, and some 
Cherokees, who had joined them, had decided to 
raid and destroy. The close of the war brought 
quieter times, and the old order was resumed. 
Father Paul continued his work among the 
Osages, administering to their wants, both spirit- 
ual and temporal, until 1870, wdien the Osages, 
giving way to the westward march of civilization, 
sold their land to the government and moved to 
the Indian Territory, locating in the vicinity of 
their present home. Even then. Father Paul did 
not give up his labors among the Osages, but 
visited them in their new home at frequent in- 
tervals to look after their spiritual wants and to 
instruct and educate them. Thru his influence 
they continued for years afterwards to send their 
children back to the Mission to be educated. 
Father Paul's team of ponies and white top bug- 
gy was known to every member of the tribe and 
to thousands of other Indians and white people 
whom he visited on his journeys. His guiding 
hand turned many an erring Indian as well as 
many a pioneer white man in the right direction 
and saved him from threatening dangers. To 
this day traditions among the Indians tell many 
incidents in the life of Father Paul, and every 
child in the tribe knows much of his history. As 
an appreciation of his great labors, and those of 
good Father Schoenmakers, in their behalf, the 



12 LIFK AND LKTTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

Osages contributed liberally toward the expense 
of erecting the magnificent St. Francis' Church 
which stands at the east edge of St. Paul as a 
lasting monument to the early efforts of 
these two pioneer Jesuits. 

The first time F'ather Paul's name appears up- 
on the records of the Mission church in an of- 
ficial capacity is at the baptism of three Osages 
on September i6, 185 1. The first person baptis- 
ed by him at the Mission was Pelagie, daughter of 
Manshasemani. His name was signed to this 
record as Paulus ]\Iarie Ponziglione S.J. Howev- 
er he had on August 6, 185 1, baptised Charlie 
Moquete, a French boy, in Coffey county. The 
first funeral at which he officiated was that of 
Francis Alexander Tinker, on September 17,1851. 

Beginning with 1852 Father Paul entered ac- 
tively in the parish work, it having taken him a 
few months to master the Osage language. For 
about three years he officiated at most of the 
baptisms, marriages and funerals at the Mission. 
During these years he began his regular visits to 
the various towns of) the Osages, and other 
Fathers would care for the local parish during 
his absence. His records show he baptised per- 
sons in the towns of the various bands of the 
tribe, some of which are given here : 

Papin's town or Nartze Waspe, Briar's town 
or Vacaca Ougri, Little town or Mantzeeacke 
Tonwa. These were towns of White Hair's 
band on the Neosho. 

Clairmont, Black Dog, Big Hill or Tanwas- 
hieshie town. Tale, Tei-teio-anco. These were 
towns of Clairmont's band of Big Osages on the 
Verdigris. 

Little Bear, Xumpewale, Citopa. These were 
towns of Little Bear's band of Little Osages on 
the Timber Hills. 



I 







K" 



'/> ^ 




-00 



CO 



LIFE AND LETTERS OE EATHER PAUL. I3 

Other Indian towns visited by Fatlier Paul, 
mention of which was made in his records were 
as follows : Cally's town or Sanze Vagrin, Fail- 
ly's town on the Verdigris, Woipoka town of the 
Little Osages on Big Creek, Wolf's town of 
Black Dog's band, Tishohanka town, and Little 
Osages' Big Chief's town. 

He baptised many Quapaw Indians during the 
early years of his stay at the Mission, but as 
many of the Quapaw children were brought to 
the Mission school it is quite probable that most, 
if not all of his work among the Quapaws was 
done at the Mission. The records show that 
several members of the Quapaw tribe were bur- 
ied in the Mission cemetery. 

In 1855 he visited the Little Osages then lo- 
cated in Bates county, ^lissouri, and other scat- 
tered bands of Indians north of the Mission 
He speaks of visiting the Sac and Fox agency in 
1867 and the Kaw Reserve in Morris county in 
1870, the Cheyenne Agency on the North Fork 
and the tribes around Ft. Sill in the Indian Ter- 
ritory in 1 87 1. He records visits to the Kaw 
reservation in the Indian Territory in 1877,1880, 
1881, 1882, 1884 and 1885. In 1879 he was 
among the Creeks and speaks of baptisms per- 
formed at Muskogee and Ft. Gibson. In 1880 
he made two trips into the Indian Territory. His 
records show he was as far south as McAlester 
and Savanna. I. T., this year, and he mentions 
having been at Yinita and Eufaula. 

The Osages, however, were the favorites of 
Father Paul and he gave them his closest atten- 
tion, not only while they resided in Kansas, but 
after they moved to the Indian Territory he 
made regular visits to them every year prior to 
his departure for Milwaukee in 1889. He men- 
tions specifically having been on Birch creek, Big 



14 life: and li:tters of father paul. 

Cana and Hominy creek and at Deep Ford on 
the Osage reservation in 1877. 

Father Paul contributed liberally to the liter- 
ature of the Osages. He spoke their language 
as fluently as he did English or Latin, and he 
wrote many articles in that language. Wilder 
in his Annals of Kansas, says: "Father Pon- 
ziglione wrote an Osage prayer book; it is own- 
ed by Dr. J. G. Shea, at Elizabeth, N. J." 

HIS LABORS AMONG THE WHITES. 

''His domn-hed — a pallet; his trinkets — a head; 
His luster — one taper, that serves him to read; 
His sculpture — the crucifix nailed to his bed; 
His paintings — one print of the thorn-crowned 

head; 
His cusions — the pavement that zvearies his 

knees; 
His music — the psalms, or the sigh of the breeze; 
The delicate noble lives mortified there, 
And the feast is forgotten for fasting and 

prayer." 

The presence of the Jesuits and the Sisters of 
Loretto and their schools at Osage Mission caus- 
ed the early settlers in Southeast Kansas to clus- 
ter around the Mission. This was especially 
true of those who were Catholics. The Mission 
became the ''trading post" of Southeast Kansas, 
and the country around settled rapidly. While 
continuincf his labors among the Indians, Father 
Paul did not neglect these early settlers. He 
mmistered to their spiritual wants, did great 
work in helping to lighten the sufferings and 
hardships incident to pioneer life on the prairies, 
and likewise assisted Father Schoenmakers in 
educating their children. Nor did he confine his 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 1$ 

labors to those who settled near the Mission. As 
the settlers began to dot the prairies far and 
near, he made regular visits to them. Often he 
would gather together a few Catholics in some 
settler's home and say Mass for them and look 
after their general spiritual needs. It may be 
said that his parish at one time extended north 
almost to Kansas City, west far out into the 
plains country, and south almost to the Texas 
line. In time he established regular routes and 
covered them at regular intervals. On one visit 
he would tell the settlers when he would be there 
again, and it is said that he was remarkably 
prompt in filling these appointments. His white 
top buggy became as familiar to these settlers 
as it was to the Indians and its coming was al- 
ways hailed with joy. As the settlers became 
more numerous, he began helping them to build 
churches that they might have better facilities for 
conducting their services. He continued to visit 
these churches as often as he could until, in time, 
resident priests were found to take charge of the 
work. In this way Father Paul did a wonder- 
ful work for his church in Kansas in the pioneer 
days. It is on this work that Humboldt, Ottawa, 
Neodesha, Winfield and many other towns base 
their claims to him as their first parish priest, 
which in fact he was. His records mention vis- 
its in 1857 to Big Creek, in Coffey county, Bur- 
lington, North Fork of Pottawatomie Creek in 
Anderson county, and Bourbon county ''on the 
creek called Little Pawnee."In 1858 he speaks of 
visits at Aliami Town, Kansas Territory, Prairie 
City in Douglass county, Cherokee Neutral Land 
on Walnut Creek. In 1859 he speaks of visits 
on Little Osage in Bourbon county, and at Co- 
fachigne in Allen county. 

In the early Sixties he mentions several visits 



l6 LlFiC AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

at LeRoy in Coffey county, Humboldt, Fall Riv^ 
er, Emporia in Breckenridge county, Allen coun- 
ty about Osage City, Ft. Scott, Mount City m 
Linn county ; also Owl Creek in Woodson coun- 
ty, Mackee-chee postofi^ce in Coffey county. Ot- 
ter Creek in Coff'ey county, Bani^ville in Bour- 
bon jcointy. Diamond Creek in Chase county, 
Timber Hill in LaBete county, Dry Creek in 
^Vilson and Woodson counties. Big \\'alnut in 
Butler county and Coyville in Wilson county. 

In the Seventies he mentions visits at several 
of the above named places and the following: 
Parkersburg in ]\rontgomery county, Ladore in 
Neosho county. Cedar Point in Chase county, 
Wichita, Fredonia, Neotisha, Independence, 
Neosho Rapids in Lyons county, Grouse Creek 
in Cowley county. Bird Creek and Turkey Creek 
in Butler county, Morgan in Montgomery coun- 
ty, New Ark township in Wilson county, Sand 
Creek in Wilson county, Irish Creek in Mont- 
gomery county. Parsons, Chanute, Longton 
township in Elk county. Potato Creek in Labette 
county, Thayer, Bolton and Cedar in Cowley 
county, Center and Sedan townships in Howard 
county, Winfield, Salt Spring in Greenwood 
county, Cherryvale, Salt Creek in Chautauqua 
county. 

From 1876 to 1880 he mentions visits at Cof- 
fcyville, Oswego, Wild Cat township in Elk 
county, Howard City, Longton, Elgin, New Al- 
bany, Elk Falls township in Elk county, Altoona, 
Erie, Neosho Rapids in Kansas, and Muskogee, 
Ft. Gibson, Eufaula, McAlester, Savanna, Kaw 
reservation and Osage reservation in Oklahoma. 

Father Paul also did considerable missionary 
work in Missouri. In 1859 he mentions being at 
Granby in Newton county, and also as being 
m Jasper and Vernon counties. In 1861 he visit- 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. I7 

ed various points in Jasper county and in 1866 
was at Neosho Town, in 1868 at Carthage, and 
1875 at Harrisonville. 

From the above list of places it may be seen 
that he covered a wide range of territory in his 
missionary work. He visited many of these 
points at regular intervals for several years, 
quitting only when relieved by resident priests; 
while to some of these he continued his periodi- 
cal visits up to 1889, when he left Kansas. 

The names of places are spelled here just as 
they appear on his records. Some of them are 
still known by the same name, some by a differ- 
ent name, and some by the same name different- 
ly spelled, while some have ceased to be known. 

The old log church at Osage Mission became 
too small to accommodate the people who de- 
sired to worship there, and Fathers Paul and 
Schoenmakers set about to provide a more com- 
modious place of worship, and together they laid 
the plans for the present spacious and beautiful 
St. Francis church. Much of the work of raising 
the funds for the construction of this church fell 
upon the shoulders of Father Paul. Having 
charge of the parish work, he therefore had 
charge of all the festivals, fairs and entertain- 
ments that helped to^ raise money and about fif- 
teen years were required to bring the building near 
enough to completion that it might be used foi 
church services. Good Father Schoenmakers 
did not live to see the new church more than half 
completed, but Father Paul had the proud satis- 
faction of being the celebrant at the Solemn 
High Mass on the day of its dedication. May ii, 
1884. The writer had the pleasure of being pres- 
ent on this auspicious occasion. 

Father Paul took a deep interest in the schools 
and gave them close attention in all his work. 



1 8 LIFK AND LETTE:RS OF FATHER PAUL. 

When St. Francis Institution was incorporated 
he became secretary of the board of trustees and 
served in that capacity for several years. On his 
trips over the country he v^as ever alert for stu- 
dents for the Mission schools. Many boys and 
girls, Indians and whites, were sent to the Mis- 
sion schools thru his solicitation. He was also 
a frequent visitor at the schools and delivered 
many lectures to the students. 

A man of remarkable energy, fine ability, an 
earnest, tireless worker, was Father Paul. He 
bore hardships and exposure that would have 
broken an ordinary man. He knew what it was 
to ride for days at a time across the prairies in 
the severest storms of winter or in the burning 
heat of summer. He knew what it was to sleep on 
the open prairie with a laprobe for his bed and 
the canopv of heaven for his cover. All these 
did not seem to effect his health or his disposi- 
tion, for in his old a?e he retained a splendid 
youthful face that did not seem to grow old. 
Only once do we find a record of him being seri- 
ously ill. In the Osage Mission Joumal, January 
26, 1876, the following was printed: ''Father 
Ponziglione was taken suddenly and seriously 
ill while celebrating Mass at Independence last 
Sunday, and reached home Tuesday in an alarm- 
ing condition. We are informed this is the first 
illness the Father has had for nearly a score of 
years, notwithstanding he had endured great 
hardships during that time." 

One of the most remarkable points in the 
eventful life of this remarkable man is that in 
the midst of his roaming life he managed to 
keep up his studious habits. He was regarded 
as one of the finest Latin scholars and writers in 
the Society of Jesus which is noted for its men 
of great learning, many of them of world-wide 



U^t AND LETTERS O^ FATHER PAUL. I9 

fame. Father Paul wrote much Latin prose and 
verse, and some of his historical sketches are pre- 
served in the archives in Rome. A number of 
his articles have been published in magazines, 
and much of the history of southeastern Kansas 
is based on articles he wrote. 

CELEBRATES HIS JUBILEE. 

"A bright, cheerful, happy soul; a sensative 
heart, a temperme^it open to em>otion and im- 
pulse; and all this elevated, refined by the touch 
of heaven" — such was Father Paul, "winning 
followers, riveting affections, by ht>s sweetness, 
frankness and neglect of self." 

One important and happy event in the life of 
Father Paul was celebrated in Osage Mission,, 
February 26 and 2^, 1889. It was the fiftieth 
anniversary of his admission into the Society of 
Jesus. St. Francis Institution and St. Ann's 
Academy were at their zenith in those days and 
the pupils joined with the people in the program'; 
of this festive occasion. The pupils of St. Fran- 
cis' parish school had charge of the program in the 
forenoon of the first day, and the pupils of St.. 
Ann's Academy tendered the Rev. Jubilarian 3 
most fitting reception in the afternoon. A public 
reception was given in College Hall in the even- 
ing. A band and an orchestra furnished the 
music. The decorations were elaborate and the 
illuminations were brilliant. About forty visit- 
ing clergymen were present, and the big hall was 
filled to its capacity with people. Speeches of 
eulogy were numerous, and the presents valuable 
and appropriate. Among the presents was a 
cope from the Osage Indians of the Indian Ter- 
ritory. Presents were also received from the 



20 LIFE AND LF/rTECRS OF FATHE:r PAUL. 

parishes at Winfield, Parsons, Independence and 
Clierryvale, where he had served as pastor before 
resident priests were obtained. 

An intensely interesting part of the program 
was the reply of Father Paul to the congratula- 
tions, and his acceptance of the presents tendered 
him. Plis stories and reminisences of ''Ye Olden 
Times," caused much laughter, at the same time 
conveyed important historical information of 
pioneer days on the plains. 

The religious part of the jubilee took place 
on the second da3^ when Father Paul was the 
celebrant at a Solemn High Mass in St. Francis' 
church. Rev. Henry Moeller S. J., rector of tlie 
St. Louis University, delivered a very appro- 
priate and eloquent sermon containing allusions 
to the life and work of Father Paul which sent 
thrills of emotion thru those who had been wit- 
nesses or sharers of the "heats and labors of the 
day." 

Pope Leo XHI sent the following message 
thru his cardinal secretary, which was read by 
Rev. Fr. J. R. Roswinkle S. J. : 

"Rome, February i, 1889. 
"Rev. and Dear Father: 

"P. C. 

"The Holy Father very willingly grants his 
special blessings to Father Ponziglione S. J., for 
his Golden Jubilee and to all those present on 
the celebration day. 

"I join my heartfelt congratulations and rec- 
ommending myself to your holy sacrifices, I re- 
main, 

"Yours in J. C. 

"C. Cardinal Mazklla." 

* * :»: 

A writer signing the article "T. A. D." wrote 



UFK AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 21 

the following for the Neosho County Journal, 
dated January i, 1889, relative to the Golden 
Jubilee of Father Paul : 

"Forty-two years ago there knelt at the feet of 
that grand Pontiff — the illustrious Pius IX — a 
young man in the garb of a Jesuit; there he knelt 
with bowed head and tearful eye to receive the 
blessings of heaven from that venerable Pontiff, 
and to listen to the aft'ectionate outpourings of a 
heart that could fully appreciate the secret grief 
of the soul, from his own intense sorrow. There 
he knelt drinking in the sweet words of consola- 
tion ere he departed an exile to home, country 
and friends ; banished from fair and beautiful 
Italy, because, foresooth, he was a religious and 
doubly banished because he was a Jesuit. That 
young man was Rev. Paul Ponziglione, S. J. 

*'Born in the little village of Cherasco, a fev\^ 
leagues from, the great metropolis of Turin, 
Father Paul passed his happy childhood under 
the paternal roof till the age to enter college, 
where he spent ten years in solid preparation 
for the great hidden life before him. 

"After a very successful course in the classics 
and sciences he left his renowned Alma Mater, to 
seek in the Jesuit Order, a Hfe, not of ease and 
comfort and honor, but a life of toil, privation, 
aye and even exile, for soon the fierce persecu- 
tion of the 'Carfonari' drove not only him and 
his humble colleagues from their homes, but even 
the revered Pontiff whose paternal benediction 
he had so lately received. And now bidding one 
long, sad farewell to the land of his birth, he 
seeks on other shores that hospitality denied to 
him on his own, and thus 'Sunny Kansas' be- 
comes to him 'The Gem of the World.' 

"Forty years ago in company with Bishop 
Miegs — also a Jesuit — he entered the State of 



22 life: and LKTTKRS OF FATHER PAUL. 

Kansas and made St. Mary's their first episcopal 
see. On July 4, 1851, the Bishop and Father 
Paul entered Osage Mission, and were greeted 
by Fathers Shoenniakers, Bax and Hiemans, 
who were then the only secular priests in that vast 
region. From thenceforth Osage Mission be- 
came the center of his great work and the re- 
sults are wonderful. Sixty missions which he 
established all over Kansas, and even in Missouri 
and the Indian Territory, testify to the indefati- 
gable zeal and energy of this renowned pioneer 
missionary. Many of those missions are today 
the most flourishing of our cities. Besides this 
great record of building up religion and churches, 
in totally unknown regions, he can add to his 
laurels, the distinguishing honor of having assist- 
ed at the foundation of as many more missions. 
From an ably written article in the Topeka Qom- 
monzvealth of last week, we extract the fol'ow- 

"' 'The record of this man's life is his noblest 
panegyric. Mere words of praise would fall flat 
after the recital of such self denial, such hard- 
ships as these records suggest. Father Pon- 
ziglione still retains the vigor of youth, altho 71 
years of age. In spite of the many harships he 
has passed thru he has scarcely known the mean- 
ing of the word sickness, as far as he is himself 
concerned. The great monument of his life, 
in which is his greatest pride, is the magnificent 
church and college at Osage Mission. The lat- 
ter is always crowded, and each year many stu- 
dents are refused because of lack of room. The 
old church which was torn down last summer 
was the first one erected in Eastern Kansas. It 
was replaced by a three story building for col- 
lege purposes.' " 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF TAT HER PAUL. 23 

Poems of the Golden Jubilee of Rev. FatliCr 
Paul M. Ponziglione S. J., read at the celebra- 
tion : 

SALUTATORY. 

(anonymous.) 

Thou hast not vainly tilled a thankless land 
Nor hast thou aimless turned frmn side to side; 
Thou hast not built upon the moving sand. 
Nor cast bright seed upon the flowing tide. 

Pull fifty stars that light the flood of times; 
Pull fifty hymns that rise in strains sublime 
Out of the happy past; full fifty isles 
All steeped in Beauty's glozu and bathed in smiles. 

Prom kindly Heaven; full fifty Angels fair, 
Crowned zmth soft lilies and sweet ziolets rare, 
These are the symbols of thy Rosary 
Of years — the type of things that guild thy 
Jubilee. 

LITTLE GIRLS' GREETING. 

(miss MAGGIE BARNES.) 

As He called "the blest" babe in olden days 

"The little ones come unto me," 
So our voices are first to strike tuneful lays 

Upon this, thy ozvn Jubilee. 

Likezmse may zve please and a moment begtiile. 
E'en tho zmrds do so feebly speak. 

How happy we'd be to gain only your smile — 
Your blessing zve graciously seek. 



24 LiFlv AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

O, long may your pathway beside ours remain 
'As pledge of God's goodness given; 

Until wafted home zve relinquish our claim, 
In the hope we shall meet in Heavn. 

HAPPY HEARTS. 

(anonymous.) 

Happy heart and none more happy, 

Than the heart zve hved and knew, 
In our childhood's guileless moments. 

And when yet our years zvere few, 
When each hour zvas like the ripple. 

Passing o'er the woodla^id stream. 
Brightened with the suns ozvn splendot , 

Naught reflecting hut his beam. 

Faithful heart and none more loving, 

Than tlih heart zvc'z'e later knozvn; 
Heart by Jesus' ozvn heart cherished, 

Next to Jesus' all our ozvn. 
Angels looking dozvn from Heaven, 

See no spectacle more fair. 
Earth has not mid all her treasures 

Aught zvith thee that can compare. 

Happy hearts of fondest parents, 

Nozv in Heaven among the blest; 
Happy as their eyes this moriiing. 

On their dear son proudly rest. 
Joyous now as life is zvaning, 

'Ere his numbered years are gone, 
Honored 'mongst the Lord's anointed, 

Lo! they see their vested son. 

Happy heart, fond as a fathoms, 
Grateful li carts of children dear, 



life: and letters OE father PAUL. 25 

Gladdened on this feast returning, 

Bringing in the 'Fiftieth year!' 
Fifty years — hozv swiftly vanished! 

Times veiled hand hath graved thy brow, 
Happy hearts if thou art with us, 

Many more as thou art nozv. 

'7UBILBB POBMr 

(miss MAGGIE BARNES.) 

Not SO bright in setting the sun appears, 
Than the glomes of your zvell-spent life now shine. 
For full five decades of full golden years. 
Around your heart in peaceful memory tzvine. 

O priest among priests zvho from great Pins zvon, 
The blessing prized — the boon from childhood's 

friend; 
A benediction givn to Ignatius' son. 
To guide and guard you safely unto the end. 

Wert destined in alien climes to roam, 
Lo! here your aged presence preserves, 
While younger hearts lie still zvithin the tomb. 
And keep the vigil of the Vale of Tears. 

Sto may Heaven zve pray, still spare you long, 
And shed nezv joys upon your hallozi^ed zvay. 
Redoubling years like some szveet t^ythmic song. 
Glad, ling' ring echoes of your ''Jubilee Day." 

May it be thus, and when life's ebbing sands 
Have run, and you henceforth no more shall 

roam. 
May your last greeting come fnom angel bands, 
Your soul's bright escort to the Heavnly home. 



2(i LIFE AND LKTTI^RS 0? FATHl^R PAUL. 

JUBILBB POBM. 

TO REV. P. PONZIGLIONE, S. J. 
(by rev. JOHN MASTERSON S. J.) 

Full fifty years ago and far away 
Beneath fair Italy's cloudless, matchless sky, 
While tuneful birds announced the breaking day, 
And szvarthy peasants toiling carroUed merrily. 

Lo! in the college chapel, calm, serene, 
A young scholastic prostrate low. 
The central figure in the solemn scene 
Prepares to seal his hopes by triple vow. 

Chaste as the Angels pure in Heaven's choir, 
And win, thus armed, a bright eternity. 
To be e'en poor as Christ he must aspire, 
Obedient too — as Christ — henceforth to be, 

No useless tear stands glistening in his eye, 
No idle purpose zvakens in his heart, 
But nozv he longs at duty's call to die, 
O"' e'er in truth's defence sustain his part. 

Soon conies the call to mingle in the strife. 
And fearless battle in truth's holy ground; 
Then seeming dawns the chance to lay down life. 
But passing leaves him seized a captive bound. 

The froziming prison next receives the youth, 
And persecution fain zirould cozmrdly unite; 
The young and valiant champion of truth. 
And make him grieve for combating for right. 

The brief ordeal ends and freedom's light, 
Dazuns fair illusion looming far, as while 



LIFE AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 2'J 

Yet in the respite smift must be his flight, 
A long farewell to Italy — exile. 

Acrdss the main zvhere freedom holds proud 

sway, 
Years of holy preparation passed; 
Lo! dawns a zvelcome memorial day 
That sees our heio, Father at last. 

O priest of God, be humble, pure and brave, 
A vessel of election must thou be; 
O bless him. Mother Church, 'tis his to save 
Myrads of souls and faithful be t,o thee. 

In thy vast vineyard for full forty years. 
In regions lonely named and savage zuest; 
Mid sufferings many and oft mid anxious fears. 
He'll toil and bide this hour of peaceful rest. 

Afar beyotvd proud civilization' s pale. 
Where no abode but zingzifams meet the eye. 
His seal iincozved must foUozv up the trail 
And conquer in the task or falling, die. 

Anon he comes where Shoshones chase the deer; 
Anon faith's mysteries to Cherokees reveals; 
Then latere — the roving pioneer. 
Or on the plain alone, and lost he kneels. 

Where cluster lodges 'neath the spreading birch 
And near Neosho's zvaters there is raised. 
The central cross, and in the humble church 
By Osage worshippers the Lord is praised. 

Look zvhere yon temple meets the gaze; 
His toil to raise it up the Angels knozv, 
And all those toils it mutely now repays, 
And stand his zeal's memorial here below. 



28 life: and LKTTKRS of father PAUL. 

Thus two score years and more have glided by. 
But gone leave peace and glory in their wake, 
B'en as at eve the golden tinted sky 
Is seen reflected in the placid lake. 

And nozi' this evening in the fiftieth year, 

Of the zcell-spent life of this thy cherished son 

We hid thee, Mother joyous to cheer 

Its closing days and crown the triumph he won. 

His was the task the straying soul to keep. 
And his the drooping heavy heart to raise, 
His to sustain the poor desponding zveak, 
His thus to fill the measure of his days. 

Well might immortal laurels; — his brow 
On each unfading leaf, 
Bach hem't's fond sentiment azvakened now 
And leave it shining as the stars of night. 

Such are our thoughts thus gathered here this eve, 
Our hearts more pri.:;cd than zvell deserved 

renown, 
Such do zve bring thee, Father Paul, and leave 
Our God oboz'e to give the golden crown. 

ODB. 

(by RKV. T. a. EUTLFR,, of ST. LOUIS.) 

Life zi'as fresh, like flozvers ozuakening, 

In thy bright Italian clime; 
Fair as dawn of morning breaking 

Scent d to light the coming time; 
Barth and sea and skies above you 

Caught the rosy tinted glozv; 
Kindred zchispeied, "Paul, I love you!" 

More than fifty years ago. 



UFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 2g 

But the Lord of all has spoken 

Sweeter words than human tongue, 
Ties of kindred must he broken, 

Heavn is pleased zvith hearts so young; 
Paul is call'd, and soon we find him 

Where Ignatius' soldiers grow; 
Ah, he left the zvorld behind him 

Fully fifty years ago! 

Left the palace — left the college — 

Left the sacred shrines of Rome; 
Full of faith and zeal and knowledge, 

Sent 1)0 seek a pmirie hoine; 
Sent across the rolling ocean, 

Out where Kansas rivers flow; 
Ah! how strong that priest's devotion, 

Nearly fifty years ago. 

Few the homes in days departed — 

Praise home when Paul zvas young; 
Then the Indian — lion-hearted — 

On the plains his blanket flung. 
Few the farmers on the prairies, ■ 

Indians wandered to and fro. 
By Saint Francis', by Saint Mary's, 

Fifty, forty years ago. . 

On the plains the Father greets them. 

In their zmgzmms preacheth peace; 
Smiles zvith joy zvhereer he meets them, 

Causes fir'y fends to cease; 
Bends the proud to own a Master, 

Leads zvhere heaz^nly graces flow 
At the feet of Christ the Pastor, 

Happy forty years ago. 

)Fair thou seem est Osage Mission! 
Born again to brighter days! 



30 Ll^t AND LE:TTERS of FATHE:r PAUL. 

Standing now in strong position 
Tell thru time thy soldier s praise, 

But forget not thru the ages, 
While Neosho's waters flow, 

Paul, apostle of O sages, 
More than forty years ago ! 



FATHER PAUL LEAVES THE MISSION. 

"Leave us not — leave us not, 

Say not adieu; 
Have we not been to thee 

Tender and true? 
Take not thy sunny smile 

Far from our hearth; 
With that siifeet light zvill fade 

Summer and mirth. 
Leave us not — lea^e us not 

Can thy heart roam? 
Wilt thou not pine to hear 

Voices from home?" 

— Hermans. 

In 1889 the provincial of the Jesuits decided 
he had a greater need for the services of Father 
Paul elsewhere, and about August 5, 1889, Father 
Paul left his home of many years for his new 
labors at Marquette College, Milwaukee, Wiscon- 
sin. There were many heavy hearts in Osage 
Mission that day, and hundreds of people were 
at the depot to bid a sorrowful farewell and God 
speed to the venerable priest whom th'^y had 
known so long and well. On that day there de- 
parted from Kansas one of the noblest men that 
ever lived within its borders, and one who had 
done the State greater service than men who have 
been given a greater place in its history. Father 



LIFE AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 3 1 

Paul labored for humanity and the greater glory 
of God, without thought of self, and hundreds 
of his deeds were so quietly performed that his- 
tory will never know of them. 

H^ brought to Kansas more than his religion. 
His work and that of his associates was the be- 
ginning of moral force in Southeastern Kansas. 
They spread education and culture and founded 
the first churches and schools for which Kansas 
has since become famous. They placed the wel- 
fare of men above gain, and without selfish in- 
terests, the}^ remained true to their cause to the 
end, laying a fitting foundation for the material 
welfare of the state in after years. Their work 
was so well done that thei Mission became known 
as ''the cradle of civilization" in the Neosho Val- 
ley. 

The last official act of Father Paul at St. 
Francis' church was the baptism of Stella Kin- 
ley, on August 4, 1889. 

A writer signing the article S. A. D., writing 
for the Neosho County Journal, August i, 1889, 
pays this tribute to Father Ponziglione: 

"The news of Father Ponziglione's removal to 
Milwaukee, proved quite a shock to this com- 
munity. While just at the prime of life, Father 
Paul penetrated into these wilds. Ignoring the 
privations and sufferings of a prairie home, he 
became the 'black gown' of the Osage Indians 
and with them passed the best days of his man- 
hood. As with the coming of a Jesuit, civiliza- 
tion's stamp is crested so the Indian camping 
ground in course of time, became a thriving vil- 
lage, and tho every vestage of antiquity has giv- 
en way beneath the hand of time, still the record 
of a life-long sacrifice was lovingly beheld, while 
the hoary-head of the pioneer priest, bent in. 



32 LII^K AND LETTERS 0? FATHER PAUL. 

daily adoration at the foot of the altar of St. 
Francis D'Hieronimo. 

"It was hoped that the land hallowed as the 
seat of his early labors, would be further sanciti- 
fied as that of his last resting place, but relentless 
fate has not willed it so. While the companion 
of his toils, Father Schoenmakers, sleeps the 
sleep of the just within sight of his former home, 
Father Paul yet possessing a remarkable vitality, 
willingly resumes other duties, and the future 
will behold him in a new mission, where a fair 
city lifts its proud dome to the sky. 

"Father Ponziglione has grown old in the 
service of the Lord. Upon February last nu- 
merous friends greeted him as the saintly jubilar- 
ian who : 

"Sent across the rolling ocean 
Out zi'here Kansas rivers flow, 

sancitified the 'great west" by his princely, yet 
humble bearing as : 

"Paul, Apostle of O sages 
More than forty years ago. 

'Xittle did the abrupt parting that erst awaited 
in the misty future, intrude upon the loving 
hearts of his faithful subjects, for it was their 
fond wish that his pathway might, thru coming 
years, beside theirs remain as a pledge of God's 
goodness. 

''The kind wishes of the entire parish accom- 
pany our priestly friends in their journeys o'er 
the many quicksands and unseen shoals of life, 
trusting that the bright pilot of hope may attend 
their every voyage, and finally anchor them at 
the port of eternal rest, in the home of God's 
elite — Heaven." 



LIFE AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 33 

ACTIVE LIFE IN THE NORTH. 

"Come ye children and hearken to me, 
I zmll teach you the fear of the Lord.'' 

Father Paul spent only a few months at Mil- 
waukee, during which time he was employed as 
Spiritual Father at Marquette College and as 
assistant in the parish work at Holy Name 
church. In the letters he wrote to friends at the 
Osage Mission he carefully refrained from men- 
tion of his duties or labors. 

In 1890 Father Paul was sent to St. Stephen's 
Mission in Wyoming. Some authorities say he 
was sent to assist in quieting trouble which had 
arisen among the Crow Indians, but the writer is 
unable to verify this statement, ]\Ir. Brewster, 
whose able biography of Father Paul was pub- 
lished by the Kansas Historical Society, is one 
of the above authorities. He also stated that 
^Montana was the scene of his western labors. 
Wyoming, however, appears to be correct, for in 
the Osage ^Mission Journal, dated December 10, 
1891, the following appeared: 

"We had the pleasure of receiving a letter 
from Rev. Father Paul M. Ponziglione S. J., 
dated December 2nd, at Creighton College, Oma- 
ha. He informs us he has been recalled from St. 
Stephen's Mission in Wyoming and is enjoying 
the hospitality of Creighton College while wait- 
ing for word to go to a new destination." 

A few days after the above was written Father 
Paul was directed to report at St. Ignatius Col- 
lege, Chicago, where he was assigned to the 
position of historian in the College. He retain- 
ed this position up to the time of his death, and 
was regarded as standard authority on points of 
history. 



34 ui'e; and letters o? father paul. 

Besides being historian to St. Ignatius College 
Father Paul exercised his priestly functions in 
the capacity of assistant pastor at the Holy Fam- 
ily church, and even after he had reached the 
advanced age of four score years he continued 
to hear confessions, go on sick calls and sing 
High Masses as he did in his younger years. 

Shortly after reaching Chicago Father Paul 
saw the need of work among the people of his 
own native country then residing in Chicago and 
in 1892 he organized the Guardian Angel school 
which later became known at the Guardian Angelf 
Italian Mission. His school prospered from the 
first and in a few years became known as the 
largest parish school in the world, having a daily 
attendance of 2,500 children. In connection with 
this he organized a Sunday school for the Italian 
children and this, too, grew rapidly until it ac- 
quired the distinction of beins: the largest Sunday 
school in the world. 

Father Paul was also chaplain of the deaf 
mutes at the Epheta School at St. Joseph's Home, 
Chicago. He organized two sodalities among 
the pupils of this school, one for the young men 
and the other for the young ladies. The sign 
language was used in all the sermons, psalms and 
prayers. He also found time to give much as- 
sistance to the Visitation and Aid Society, and 
Father Hoeffer speaks of Father Paul as the 
"ever venerable but ever young-hearted Catholic 
Chaplain of the Bridewell." 

Could there be a more striking refutation of 
the theories of Dr. Osier, than the remarkable 
achievements of Father Paul in Chicago, after 
his still more remarkable work as a pioneer mis- 
sionary on the plains? He had already passed 
the allotted span of three-score and ten years 
when he took up his residence in Chicago, yet 



life: and letters of father PAUL. 35 

few men in an entire life accomplish as 
much as he did during the eight years he spent 
in that city. His mind was clear and active un- 
til the last, and it was only when the call of death 
came that he ceased his labors here on earth. 



FIFTY YEARS A PRIEST. 



"Ah! how strong that priesfs dev^otion 
Fully fifty years ago." — 



Butler. 



Father Paul's second golden jubilee, the fifti- 
eth anniversary of his ordination to the priest- 
hood, was held in Chicago, March 27^ to 25, 1898, 
at St. Ignatius College. This celebration was ob- 
served in rather a quiet way, yet not without that 
imposing grandeur and splendor which would do 
honor to the jubiliarian. A reception was held 
at the College with music, speeches and the pre- 
sentation of gifts. Two thousand people attend- 
ed the Solemn High Mass offered by Father Paul 
in the Holy Family church in thanksgiving. Rev. 
Father Roswinkle S. J., who knew well of the 
great life-work of Father Paul, both in Chicago 
and in the west, delivered the sermon of eulogy. 

The members of St. Paul, (Osage Mission) 
Kansas, parish sent Father Paul a fine gold 
chalice as a token of their friendship and esteem. 
Rev. Father Peter Hanley C. P., then rector of 
the Passionist Monastery at St. Paul, Kansas, 
carried the present and the greetings of the old 
parishioners to Chicago and personally oresented 
them to Father Paul. 

In response, Father Paul sent this message 
back to his old friends who still remained at the 
"Mission" : 



36 LIFE AND LETTI^RS OF FATHER PAUL. ' 

"Chicago, March 23, 1898. 
"Very Rev. Peter Hanley, 

"Dear Father : — Please tell the people of your 
congregation that I am most thankful to them 
for the very nice chalice they have been so kind 
as to send me, as a token of their affection. In- 
deed I cannot forget any of them for their names 
are written in my heart. And tho I always have 
them present when I am at the altar, I shall have 
them in a particular manner on the 25th inst. 
when I shall make use of chalice they sent me. 

"May God bless all my dear friends and you 
in particular. 

^t>.^ "Paul M. Ponziglionk S. J." 

♦ * '■>.' 

Father Paul passed from this life to his eternal 
reward, at St. Ignatius College, Chicago, Wed- 
nesday evening, March 28, 1900, of bronchial 
pneumonia, at the advanced age of eighty-two 
years, one month and seventeen days. Surround- 
ed by his co-workers, and with a crucifix in his 
hands, his last words were a prayer to the 
Heavenly Father, whom he had so faithfully 
served. Thus fittingly ended the life of a truly 
"grand old man," a man who had devoted his 
many years to serving God and laboring for 
humanity. 

The funeral was held at the Holy Family 
church, Chicago, March 30, 1900, and he was 
buried in the Jesuit cemetery, and "countless 
thousands mourned.'' 

"Thus he died, the (j}^eat Apostle, 

Far away in regions zcest; 
By the lakes of the Algonqimis 

Peacefully his ashes rest; 
But his spirit still regards its • 

From his home among the blest." > 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 3/ 

INTERPRETER AIDS IN A CONFESSION. 

"Fearless of danger, to falsehood a stranger, 
Ltooking^not back when there's duty before! 

He shall he near£St, he shall be dearest. 
He shall be first in our hearts evermore!" 

— Charles Mackay. 

In the early seventies Father Paul received a 
*'sick call" from an Irish family, which had lo- 
cated south of where Vinita, Oklahoma, now 
stands. In the round trip journey, he covered 
near one-hundred and fifty miks. On his ar- 
rival at the home of the Irish family, he found 
a lady making a mighty effort to stay the Hand 
of Death, with poor prospects of success. Father 
Paul prepared to hear the sick woman's confes- 
sion, only to discover that she could speak only 
in the tongue of her native land, Ireland, not one 
word of which could he understand. It was truly 
a perplexing situation. He had never before 
heard a confession thru an interpreter, but in 
this case it was his only recourse, and he had no 
time to spare. A man who could speak both 
Irish and English was called to his aid, and with 
the assistance of the interpreter, Father Paul 
heard the confession, after which he administer- 
ed the "last sacraments of the church," which 
this pius woman sought to comfort her dying 
hours. 

ENCOUNTERED THE BENDERS. 

A narrow escape from death at the hands of 
the notorious Bender family was one of the ex- 
periences of Father Paul- which indicated that 
he lead what some people might term a "charm- 
ed" life. 



38 LlFlC AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 

The Benders were among the most brutal of 
the numerous outlaws that infested the prairies 
of southeast Kansas in the early seventies. Greed 
for gain led them to adopt all kinds of under- 
handed methods to acquire wealth, and many- 
foul and bloody crimes were committed by them 
to accomplish their purpose. This was before 
the advent of the Anti-Horse Thief Association 
ir Kansas, and before civil officers were numer- 
ous, so the Benders carried on their brutal work 
for months before an end was put to their career. 

Railroads were few in Kansas in those days 
and towns were far apart. Indian ponies pro- 
vided the chief mode of travel. Travelers fre- 
quently found themselves on the wide prairie 
when night came. The Benders had established 
a wayside inn on their homestead between Osage 
Mission and Independence for the avowed pur- 
pose of accommodating these travelers. 

Father Ponziglione, late one evening in the 
early spring of 1873, stopped at the Bender home 
while homeward bound from a trip to the dis- 
tant Indian villages, with the intention of remain- 
ing until morning, that he and his ponies might 
rest. 

The Bender home was a crude affair, typical 
of the times, and anything but an inviting place. 
A loose curtain divided the first floor of the log 
house into two small rooms. The ceiling was 
low and the walls rough. The brutal nature of 
the inmates was indicated by their countenances, 
and their actions were queer. Father Ponziglione 
observed all these things at a glance. He also 
noticed "Old Alan" Bender place a large hammer 
behind the curtain near where the supper table 
was spread, and afterward hold a consultation 
with his daughter Kate who was later nicknamed 
"The Tigress." 



LIFK AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 39 

Work on the big church at Osage ^Mission had 
been started and Father Paul often received 
donations from friends to aid in its construction. 
On this occasion he had what was then call- 
ed a considerable sum of money on his person. 
The Benders knew the nature of his work and 
probably had surmised the presence of the money 
and were planning to get it. Their actions ap- 
peared to the noble missionary to forebode evil, 
and the outlook was far from pleasing to him. 
An unknown voice appeared to be telling him to 
*'go/' and his ponies were restless and refused 
to eat. The mysterious disappearance of three 
or four other men who had recently traveled this 
way recurred to his mind and added to his un- 
easiness. He decided to "go," tired as he was. 
He allayed suspicion by pretending to look after 
his team, made a hasty departure without waiting 
for supper, and was beyond pursuit before his 
absence was discovered. A few weeks later the 
murder of Dr. York led to the discovery of 
the Bender crimes and to the finding of seven 
bodies buried in the garden. It was then that 
Father Paul realized how near he came to being 
numbered among, those found in the Bender 
graveyard, and understood the source of the 
warning voice. 

PREACHED STRQNG SERMONS. 

"He bade me act a manly part, tho I had ne'er a 

farthing 
For ziHthout an honest, manly heart no man zvas 

worth regarding^' — Burns. 

While Father Paul was not famous for his 
eloquence, he preached sermons that went 
straight to the point. This is illustrated in a 



40 LIFE AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 

Story an old timer told the writer on himself. 
This old timer is still living, in a distant state, 
but spent much of his life in this part of the 
country. In the early days he was much of a 
rover, and was counted as one of the "boys" in 
his youth. In fact he seldom went near a church 
and it is hinted that he spent some time dodging 
officers. He came to Osage Mission in an early 
day, and with his wife, who was a faithful 
Catholic, he a-ttended church in [the old log 
church. Father Paul preached a sermon that 
day that "drove home" to the mind of this then 
yoimg man some striking but to him unpleasant 
truths. In telling of the event to the writer, the 
old timer spoke about as follows, as near as \ve 
can remember: 

"I had been scouting for some time and had 
just arrived at the Mission. My wife prevailed 
on me to attend church with her. I didn't care 
anything about it but went to please her. Father 
Paul preached. I had never seen him before. 
You have noticed that the eyes of a person in a 
picture always appear to be looking -straight at 
you. Well, it appeared to me that Father Paul 
was looking straight at me and was preaching 
that sermon for my special benefit. The way he 
poured "hot shot" into me was a caution and I 
soon became so mad I wanted to fight him. It 
required all the will power I could muster to 
keep my seat. Of course he knew nothing about 
me, was not looking at me more than at any 
other person, and it was the same sermon he 
would have preached had I not been there, but 
I did not take it that way. On the way home my 
wife asked me how I liked the sermon. I 
couldn't hold in any longer and the way I turned 
loose wa'^ a caution. The subject was brought up 
again at the dinner table, and among other things 



LIFE AND LETTERS OE EATHER PAUL. 4 1 

I said Father Paul was a liar and I'd like to 
thrash him. A relative suggested that I would 
not say these things to Father Paul. I had been 
around quite a bit and I thought I knew about 
as much as the best of them, and I said I would 
say it to him and more too if I got a chance. Aly 
wife had come here before I did and she knew 
the man. She arose from the table and told me 
to come with her. We went to the log house 
where Father Paul roomed in the second story, 
which was nothing more than a loft, and my wife 
introduced me to him. He greeted me kindly 
with his characteristic smile. My wife told him 
I had called in question his sermon and she had 
brought me to him. She also told him that I 
had once been a Catholic. He told my wdfe to 
go over to INIother Bridget's and wait until I 
came. Then I began by "telling him a few 
things." I talked "straight from the shoulder" 
and I did not mince words. I told hmi a lot of 
the things he said in that sermon were false. 
Father Paul kept perfect control of liimself dur- 
ing my tirade. Then in a good naturcd way he 
told me some things. We" had it up and down" 
for about an hour. He knocked my boasted 
knowledge sky high. I soon found I was no 
match for him at all The result of it was that 
I knelt down there before him dnd made the first 
confession I had made in many months, and 
while I have not been a saint since, I have re- 
frained from repeating some of the things I had 
been doing before." 



"His wit in the combat, as gentle as bright, 
Never carried a heart-strain azmy on its blade." 



42 LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

SLEPT WITH RANCHMEN. 

"Upon the prairie, as the sun is sinking 
I see the cabin of the pioneer." — Ironquil. 

Father Paul, in his travels, always stopped at 
whatever house he came to at nightfall, altho he 
usually calculated to arrive at the home of some 
family he knew to spend the night. He well' 
knew the conditions of the settlers in the then 
pioneer country, and realizing their accommoda- 
tions were necessarily limited, he always accept- 
ed whatever hospitality was offered, with grati- 
tude and a smile. 

An Osage Mission young lady who was a 
school teacher in the west part of Neosho county 
in the early eighties told the writer this story: 

She was boarding with a ranchman who em- 
ployed a number of men. These men all board- 
ed with the ranchman. IMost of them were rough 
youngsters who had come west to gratify an ad- 
venturous spirit and to seek their fortunes, 
while some of them had come west to escape 
from the officers of the law. These men all had 
sleeping quarters in a separate building. About 
dusk one evening Father Paul drove up and ask- 
ed for the privilege of remaining until morning, 
which was readily granted. He was homeward 
bound from a long journey to the west, and he 
and his team were so weary from travel, they 
needed rest badly. Father Paul was a splendid 
conversationalist, with a great fund of knowledge 
of the plains and he spent the time after supper 
most pleasantly. When he expressed a desire 
to retire he v.^as told to go to the other building 
and sleep with the men. He assented, and with 
a smile, this man of royal blood spent the night 
m a hut with a bunch of strangers, his "downy 



UFK AND LETTERS OE EAT HER PAUL. 43 

couch" being two blankets on the clapboard floor. 
The table fare on many occasions was no more 
fastidious than the sleeping quartets. i\n early 
settler who still lives not far from the ''Mission" 
relates a story Father Paul told many years ago. 
The good father had traveled all day without 
finding anything to eat, and his breakfast had 
not been a sumptuous one. Late in the after- 
noon he came to an Osage wigwam where he 
was heartily welcomed. An Osage woman whom 
he had known for years, set about to make "some- 
thing extra" for their visitor. The parlor, sit- 
ting room, dining room and kitchen were all in 
one room and Father Paul sat near by resting 
while the meal was being prepared. The woman, 
after mixing the bread, used her thigh for a 
kneading board, then baked the bread before the 
camp fire. The only comment the good Father 
would make was : *'It is wonderful what a man 
can eat with a relish when he is real hungry." 

LOST ON THE PRAIRIE DURKNG BLIZZARD. 

"So zvhen he came to Kansas, strong and fearless, 
Fate had no terrors which he dare not face ; 
A soldier in the vanguard of the race. 

He did his share to make his ci>unti^' peerless." 

— Ironouil. 

Father Ponziglione did not hesitate to go 
where duty called him, regardless of the weather. 
On one occasion he came near losing his life in 
a Kansas blizzard on the prairie between Win- 
field and Howard. In those days there were few 
fences and the roads between towns were merely 
trails across the country. The good Father was 
on his way home from a long trip in the ''south- 
west country" when a "northerner" came up, and 



44 LIFE AND LI^TTERS OF fATH^R PAUL. 

with it came a driving snow which soon covered 
all traces of the trail. The broad prairie was 
one wide expanse of white. He was not very- 
familiar with the country and lost his way. He 
kept driving but came in sight of no habitation. 
In due time his horses became so weary from the 
long trip in the storm that they could go no far- 
ther. They stopped in a valley with the back of 
the buggy to the wind that it might afford some 
protection from the storm. The Father was so 
cold he could do nothing for his horses. There 
he was out on the open prairie, he knew not 
where, with his horses exhausted, a storm raging 
and no aid in sight. Neither he nor his horses 
had had anything to eat since morning, and night 
was coming on. There he sat in his buggy, tell- 
ing his beads when Abe Steinberger, now of Ok- 
lahoma, but at that time a Kansas newspaper 
man, came along on his way to Howard from 
Winfield, driving a team pf big horses. Mr. 
Steinberger told the writer of seeing the buggy a 
short distance off the trail and going to it. ''The 
good Lord will take care of me," was the reply 
the Father gave his inquiry as to how he came to 
be there, but he was so cold he could hardly speak 
this loud enough to be heard in the storm. Mr. 
Steinberger helped the Father into his own bug- 
gy, wrapped him in a buffalo robe, tied his horses 
behind his buggy and proceeded to Howard. Half 
pulling the horses behind, they made slow pro- 
gress but reached Howard just after dark. Fath- 
er Ponziglione was put to bed in a hotel and giv- 
en ''hot drinks," and altho no serious results fol- 
lowed his experience, he was not able to proceed 
homeward for nearly a week. 



LiFi: AND LETTERS Of FATHER PAUL. 45 

KEPT 'THE FAITH" ALIVE. 

A man who had once lived near the "Mission," 
told a story that showed the watchful care Father 
Paul exercised over the widely scattered Catho- 
lics of the early days. 

This man was traveling thru the Flint Hills of 
Kansas, then very sparsely settled. Night over- 
took him far from human habitation save one, 
that of a woman and her son living in a one-room 
cabin. The traveler was not favorably impress- 
ed with the surroundings and retired for the 
night with some misgivings and a feeling of un- 
easiness, for it was a time that tried men's nerves 
and strangers were looked upon with suspicion. 

A curtain separated his bed from the rest of 
the room. Soon there came to his ears the low 
voice of prayer — the mother and son repeating 
the rosary. With a feeling of relief and of se- 
curity he fell asleep. The next morning he ask- 
ed his hostess how she kept her faith alive so 
far from church and religious associations. "Oh," 
she said, "Father Ponziglione never fails to visit 
us at least once a year." 

A BOGUS NEPHEW. 

Good things are the only kind counterfeited. 
There is nothing to be gained from imitating the 
other kind. The fact that a thing is counter- 
feited is proof of its excellence. As with things, 
so it is with men. Only good men are made 
the subject for imposters. A bogus priest trav- 
eled over part of Kansas in the early days claim- 
ing to be a nephew of Father Paul. He wanted 
to make a living without much labor, and he took 
advantage of the people's generosity towards 
Father Paul to gather in favors for himself. 



46 LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

One of the families imposed upon by this 
bogus priest was that of Timothy Lynch, then 
residing near Howard, Kansas, from which place 
they later moved to St. Paul. The bogus priest 
baptised one of their children. When they later 
learned of the imposition they wrote Father 
Paul about the validity of the baptism and 
received the following reply from him, dated 
Osage Mission, Neosho County, Kansas, May 22, 
1886: 

"Your favor of the 20th instant came to hand. 
To what concerns the Baptism of your child by 
an imposter, calling himself my nephew, all I 
can say is that Baptism is always valid no mat- 
ter by whom administered, provided that he who 
administers it does it in the right way. At pres- 
ent, however, it is very doubtful whether those 
who are out of the Catholic Church -do adminis- 
ter this sacrament in the proper way. So in 
your case I would advise you to speak on the 
subject to your priest. For myself, I think I 
would have the child baptised again on condition, 
for I do not believe in the sincerity of that man 
who went around calling himself a priest and 
imposing on the credulity cf poor simple Catho- 
lics. May God bless you all-. 

"Paul M. Ponziglione S. J." 

MISTAKEN FOR A SPY. 

During the war Father Paul was arreste<d on 
suspicion that he was a rebel spy. The following 
account of the event was obtained from the sol- 
dier vvho was detailed to make the arrest : 

"In the fall of 1863, the report became current 
that the rebels were planning another raid into 
Kansas, and Colonel Knowles was sent out with 
a detachment of f-roops from Fort Scott to Mar- 



UFD AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 47 

maton, where there was already a considerable 
body of men gathered to repel the threatened 
invasion. Pickets were sent out, and everything 
was put in readiness to give Mr. Reb a warm 
reception. I belonged to the loth Kansas in- 
fantry. Word was sent to Colonel Knowles that 
a suspicious looking character was seen riding 
towards the southwest, and the supposition was 
that he was a rebel spy. Colonel Knowles at 
once ordered me to saddle my horse and go in 
pursuit, and bring the man to his tent. I at once 
set out and determined to catch the man. After 
riding five or six miles, I came in sight of that 
man. I increased my speed and was soon along 
side the object of my pursuit. I commanded him 
to halt, which he did. 1 directed him to right 
about face, as he had to report to Colonel 
Knowles. We then took the back track. He was 
reading a book when I first approached him. This 
he put away after he became my captive. When 
we arrived in Marmaton, I at once reported to 
Colonel Knowles, who asked my prisoner who he 
was and what he was doing in those parts, ^ and 
what he knew of the rebel invasion, to which he 
replied : 'I am a Catholic priest. I am on my 
way home to Osage Mission. I had an inter- 
view this mornir.g with Mrs. Blair. She inform- 
ed me that she had a dispatch from her husband, 
General Blair, that the raid on Kansas was sim- 
ply a feint; that the entire rebel army was then 
marching to the South.' This news was received 
with great joy by us all and Father Ponziglione 
was told to depart in peace. 

*'Two years later I had the pleasure of an in- 
troduction to the priest at the home of Peter 
Perrier, on Big Creek in Neosho county. I made 
the remark that we had met before. He looked 
at me straight with the remark, 'I believe you 



48 LI^D AND LKTTKRS OF FATHE:r PAUL. 

are the man who arrested me, and so I became 
a prisoner of war just for a Httle while.' 

"A. W. Smith, 
''Independence, Kansas." 

NARROW ESCAPE FROM DROWNING. 

After going to Wyoming, altho an old man, 
Father Paul continued his missionary work, and 
met with some trying experiences. The follow- 
ing taken from the Wind River Mountaineer, 
Lander, Wyoming, June 25, 1891, tells of his 
narrow escape from drowning: 

"A few days since Rev. Ponziglione undertook 
to cross Wind river near the Mission and found 
the water (deeper and swifter than he expected. 
Before he reached the middle of the stream his 
horses were forced to swim and the wagon was 
capsized, throwing the driver into the raging 
current. The horses succeeded in reaching the 
opposite bank with the wagon, but a valise and 
some other loose articles on the wagon, as well 
as Father Ponziglione were hurled downward 
by the current. Some Indians standing on the 
bank saw the accident and without a moment's 
hesitation plunged into the turbulent water and 
covered themselves with glory by rescuing the 
drowning priest. But for the presence of the 
Arapahoes it is more than probable that the cur- 
rent would have been too strong for the aged 
priest, and he would have sunk never to rise 
again." 

FIRST PASTOR OF OTTAWA. 

In the year book of Sacred Heart Church, 
Ottawa, Kansas, published by Rev. O. E. Degan 
in 1909, the following appeared: 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 49 

"In 185 1 Rev. Paul Mary Ferrero Ponziglione 
di Borgo d' Ales, a descendent of the royal Ital- 
ian Families Guerras and Ponzigliones, began 
his missionary labors in southeastern Kansas. 
In 1854 he visited the Chippewas and Appahoos- 
es in Franklin county, establishing missionary 
stations for the Chippewas as well as for the 
Sacs and Foxes. In 1857 he established a mis- 
sionary station at Prairie City, (now West Bald- 
win.) He and his companions established 150 
missions both for whites and Indians in 27 coun- 
ties in southeastern Kansas. 

"In October, 1867, Father Ponziglione S. J. 
again visited Ottawa, arriving here on horseback 
from Osage ^Mission. He stopped at the resi- 
dence of P. P. Elder, and inquired of Mr. James 
Halvey, who was employed by jNIr. Elder, con- 
cerning the Catholics in the neighborhood. 

Mass was celebrated Sunday morning in the 
residence of Mr. John Halvey at the corner of 
Third and Locust streets. Among those present 
were Timothy O'Neil. Patrick Hand and family, 
James Halvey, John Halvey and family. Next 
day Mass was celebrated at the residence of ^Ir. 
Hand, two miles southeast of Ottawa. Prior to 
this time when not visited by a priest in their 
homes, the few scattered Catholics living here, if 
they wished to attend Divine Service, were oblig- 
ed to travel to Prairie City, Emerald or Scipio. 
Altho other Priests had visited Ottawa, they 
came more as Indian missionaries before the 
county was organized or the city chartered. Fath- 
er Ponziglione may, therefore, be properly styled 
the first pastor of Ottawa." 



50 LIF^ AND LE:TTERS of I^ATHER PAUL. 

LARGEST SUNDAY SCHOOL IN THE WORLD. 

By F. J. Lyons in the Chicago Tribune, March, 
1910: 

Chicago has the unique distinction of having 
the largest Sunday school in the world. This is 
located on Forquer street, in the heart of the 
Italian settlement known as "Little Italy" and 
the story of _ its founding is almost as interest- 
ing as the school itself. 

On February 11, 1818, there was born in the 
village of Cherasco, one of the most fashionable 
resorts in the north of Italy, Paul Ponziglione. 
He was descended from one of the noblest 
families of Italian royalty. Tho of noble birth 
he preferred the arduous life of a missionary to 
that of the nobility, and accordingly joined the 
Jesuit order at an early age. 

It was while still a scholastic in the Jesuit col- 
lege in Genoa, in 1848, that he was arrested under 
dramatic circumstances by the revolutionists, put 
in chains, and thrust aboard a man of war of the 
king of Sardinia. After a number of thrilling 
experiences he at length escaped and succeeded 
in reaching Modena. 

He at once offered himself as a volunteer for 
American missionary work. He was accepted 
and went to Rome, whence he was on the eve of 
departing when violent demonstrations against 
the pope, Pius IX, compelled him to flee for his 
life. The youthful priest sought refuge in Paris, 
only to be forced by the violent animosity of 
the anti-Catholic revolutionists to seek safety 
once more in flight. Taking passage for Amer- 
ica, he at length arrived at St. Xavier's college, 
in Cincinnati. After a short time he was trans- 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 5 1 

ferred to Missouri, then the western pro- 
vince of the order. 

Thereupon he began his missionary work among 
the Indians. He was a hardy pioneer even tho 
reared as a child of royalty. His thrilling ex- 
periences in the course of his missionary labors 
in the then wild western states of the frontier 
would fill a book. After forty years of this 
strenuous, eventful life he came to Chicago, 
where in the year 1892 he founded the Guardian 
Angel's school, now the Guardian Angel's Italian 
mission, which with an attendance of more than 
2,500 children is the largest in the world. 

But Father Ponziglione in his own quiet way 
was but preparing the way for brilliant progress 
in the work of moral and social uplift. At this 
juncture there returned to America a brilliant 
young priest whose name, inseparable from the 
moral and social progress of the city, is known 
to every reader. He was Father Dtmn, now 
Bishop of Peoria. He was a Chicagoan by birth 
and his return to his native country and city 
marked the conclusion of a brilliant course of 
studies in Europe. 

His spiritual superiors perceiving his peculiar 
qualifications at once commissioned him to prose- 
cute the work begun by Father Ponziglione. 
Looking about him he saw the conditions and 
environments of the emigrants from the ''sunny 
land of olives," and like his predecessor, realized 
that the citizenship of our country demanded a 
better quality than could possibly and reasonably 
be expected from the prevalent conditions. 

Gathering] a "haitdful" of the briglit-eyed, 
dark-skinned children of the "American Italy'* 
about him, he began teaching them. Others came. 
The little boys and girls proved themselves apt 
scholars and slowly but surely the progress at- 



52 life: and IvETTE^RS 01? FATHER PAUL. 

tained assured success and gratified the heart of 
the zealous young priest. He redoubled his ef- 
forts, if indeed, this were possible. In his in- 
defatigable zeal he forgot his own self-comfort. 
Frequently, in fact, almost daily, would he en- 
dure the privations of a foreign mission, for that 
is, in reality, what it was. 

But the founders were not destined to enjoy 
the honors of their undertaking unshared. Pub- 
lic spirited men and women from all parts of the 
city offered themselves as volunteers to this do- 
mestic '' foreign mission." As a result the mis- 
sion has a staff of 125 men and women laboring 
for the betterment of American citizenship. 

Among those prominently identified with the 
undertaking are the Rev. Pacif Chenuil, pastor 
of the mission; the Rev. Raschlotti, D. D., as- 
sistant pastor: Mrs. Amberg, and William J. 
Bogan, superintendent of the mission. 

So great has been the growth of the mission 
that even the large number of instructors above 
mentioned is scarcely sufficient for the needs of 
the institution. In like manner the buildings 
are crowded to such an extent that classes are 
•conducted in the basement; while even such an 
•out of the way place as the boiler room was 
pressed into service as a classroom. In these 
classes are to be found children of all ages, from 
the tiny, bright-eyed youngster learning his first 
prayers to those of more mature years. 

While the religious aspect of this great insti- 
tution is its most salient feature everything else 
that makes for the social and moral uplift of the 
children is studiously attended to. Thus, little 
girls are taught sewing. As an incentive to their 
work they are permitted to retain the garments 
they make. This class numbers some four hun- 



life: and letters of father PAUL. 53 

dred members. The expense, such as material, 
etc., is defrayed by a large donation. 

Another great source of help to the children 
is the library. By diligent work the library com- 
mittee has succeeded in gathering together some 
fifteen hundred volumes. That the children are 
appreciative of this feature of the school is at- 
tested by the fact that about four hundred of 
the books are distributed every week and that 
they are becoming Americanized by the fact that 
such books as the life of Washington, life of 
Lincoln, and similar works are most in demand. 

The boy's club and sodalities of both boys and 
girls are means by which the social life of the 
children are strengthened. 

NEWSPAPER NOTES. 

The following extracts from newspapers will 
give some idea of Father Paul's travels and work 
during his sojourn in Kansas: 

"Father Ponziglione informs us that on the 
Verdigris river the flood swept everything before 
it, and that several families were drowned, and 
much property destroyed. At Coyville the saw 
and flouring mills and the dwellings of all the 
citizens were fully half under water, and the oc- 
cupants were driven to the upper floors for safe- 
ty. In returning Father P. endeavored to reach 
Erie, but found that place cut off from communi- 
cation with the outside world and he could not 
reach nor comfort them under their affliction." 
— Osage Mission Journal, July 15, 1869. 

''That active and indefatigable worker and 
genial gentleman. Father Ponziglione, has just 
returned from an extended tour of over a thous- 



54 LIl'K AND LETTI^RS OF FATHKR PAUL. 

and miles, made on horseback, to Eldorado, Au- 
gusta, Wichita and numerous other towns on pa- 
per and otherwise, each of which expects to be- 
come a 'county seat,' a 'commercial emporium' 
and a 'railway center,' at least. From him we 
learn that the whole country westward from here 
is being settled with unexampled rapid^ity,and that 
villages are springing into existence and having 
a growth at once marvelous and real. Wichita, 
which last May had but one house, now contains 
over a hundred of various grades and seems 
destined to be a good and prosperous place. The 
same is true of Augusta, Butler county, which, 
havinf^- secured the location of the U. S. land of- 
fice for the new land district recently created, 
will assuredly attain a rapid growth. The main 
body of the Osages is about thirty miles west 
from W'ichita, where they are hunting buffalo, 
which are in immense numbers and fat. Some 
have been killed within twelve miles of Wichita.'' 
— Mission Journal, August 4, 1870. 

"Father Ponziglione — We had a very pleasant 
call from this venerable and very gentlemanly 
Father of the Catholic Church last Saturday 
night. He had just returned from a long tour 
thru the northwest counties. He reports ap- 
palling suffering among many people on account 
of the scarcity of food. Fr. Ponziglione has 
traveled all over southwestern Kansas and among 
the wildest Indians — including the Osages, Kio- 
was, Arapahoes, Comanches, etc. He speakes 
Latin, Italian, French, Spanish and other lan- 
guages and has written several books in Osage." 
— Thayer (Kas.) Headlight, March 10, 1875. 

"While Father Ponziglione was on his west- 
ern trip last week he had the misfortune to have 



UFE) AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 55 

one of his best horses die from the effects of the 
heat." — Osage Mission Journal, Sept. 6, 1876. 

"Father Ponziglione arrived home Monday 
from a two-week's tour to the Osage Agency. 
He reports grasshoppers everywhere." — Osage 
Mission Journal, Oct. 4, 1876. 

"Father PonzigHone arrived home Thursday 

from a three-week's trip to Cowley county and 

the Western country." — Osage Mission Journal, 

Dec. 13, 1876. 

* * 

"The first building in Wilson county dedicated 
to religious worship was the Catholic church on 
Timber Hills, northwest of Fredonia, which was 
reared eight or ten years ago under the auspices 
of the Jesuit Fathers of Osage Mission." — Wil- 
son County Citizen,, May, 1876. 

"Father Ponziglione left here Alonday for 
Leadville, Colo., from whence he will make quite 
an extensive tour thru the western states and ter- 
ritories, possibly extending to the Pacific coast." 
— Osage Mission Journal, July 7, 1880. 

"Father P. M. Ponziglione, of St. Francis' In- 
stitution, at the old Osage Mission in Kansas, vis- 
ited our town one day last week. The presence 
of a Catholic Priest in our midst is such an un- 
usual circumstance that it is like that of a 
strange bird blown by a storm from some distant 
island of the ocean. If not the earliest, after the 
discovery of America, the Catholics have been 
the most extensive pioneers of Christian religion 
among the Indians. It is claimed, and just- 
ly perhaps, that they were the first. The dangers 
to which they were exposed and the deprivations 



56 hll'li AND LKTTl'RS OF FATHlvR PAUL. 

which they underwent in their early missions 
among the Indians entitle their church to the con- 
sideration of Christian zeal that is more wonder- 
ful than reasonable to the secular mind." — 
Cherokee (Indian Territory) Advocate, April, 
1882. 

"Father Ponziglione arrived home Wednesday 
from a long tri]> of 350 miles in the Indian Ter- 
ritory, lie visited the Osages at their agency at 
Pawhuska and found the half-breeds thriving 
and prosperous, with considerable stock and cul- 
tivated lands ; but the full-bloods, since the buf- 
falo were driven further away, have had a hard 
time in obtaining enough to live on and are really 
suffering. 'Lo, the poor Indian.' " — Osage Mis- 
sion Journal, April 4, 1884. 

''A disasterous and fatal mine explosion oc- 
curred at Savannah, Indian Territory, last week, 
by which three men lost their lives and thirty- 
two others were injured. Father Ponziglione 
was called to the scene of the accident shortly 
afterward. lie states that bix of the injured 
men cannot live, while many others are maimed 
for life." — Osage Mission Journal Feb. 11, 1885. 

"Father Ponziglione is one of the most zealous 
christians we have ever known ; a man of unaf- 
fected piety, and knowing no such word as fail- 
ure. The Catholic church owes more to him than 
to any dozen priests in the state." — 'Howard, 
Kas., Democrat, Feb. 7, 1889. 

"Father Paul M. Ponziglione ])assed thru Elgin 
on Tuesday on his way from Chicago, where he 
has been stationed for two years, to Pawhuska, 
the capital city of the Osages, which he has for 



LirE) AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. S7 

years taken so lively an interest in. The good ol-d 
gentleman carries his seventy-eight years lightly 
and looks no older than twenty-five years ago 
when we used to see him in his little covered 
wagon on his regular trips from Osage Mission 
to visit the tribes on their reservation south of 
us." — Sedan (Kas.) Times-Star, April 23, 1896. 
* * 

A correspondent of the Catholic Advance 
(published at Wichita, Kansas) writing from 
Neodesha, Kansas, in November, 1913, said: 

"The first Catholic church in Neodesha was 
erected by Rev. Paul- M. Ponziglione S. J. in the 
year of 1876, in the vicinity of the Frisco depot. 
* * * * Over sixty missions were establish- 
ed in Kansas besides several in the Indian Terri- 
tory, which testify to the indefatigable zeal and 
energy of this renowned missionary. Many or 
the missions today are the most flourishing of 
our cities. The record of this noble priest's life 
is filled with many trying hardships and self de- 
nials. The great monument to his life, in which 
he took the greatest interest, was the college, 
house and church at St. Paul. Rev. Father Pon- 
ziglione attended Neodesha until December, 1879, 
and Father A. School, from Independence suc- 
ceeded him." 



CHAPTER 11. 

'THE APOSTLE OF SOUTHEASTERN KANSAS." 

In writing the history of the CathoHc Church 
at Humboldt, Kansas, in 1910, Rev. Father John 
J. Maclnerney pays a glowing tribute to the 
work of Father Paul, who was really the founder 
of the church at Humboldt. We quote here that 
part of this history which we believe will be of 
interest to our readers, and in line with the sub- 
ject of this book: 

IN THK WILDERNKSS. 

The early settlers who made their venturesome 
way from the four corners of the earth to find 
homes in what was then an unbroken wilderness, 
imbued as they were with the laudable desire to 
make the desert blossom as the rose, met with 
their full measure of hardship, as all know who 
are the least familiar with history which has 
only too often been written, in the life's blood of 
the hardy ])ioneer. 

The ferries, crossing the Mississippi into Kan- 
sas, freighted with their human cargo, fought 
and cut their weary way thru huge boulders of 
floating ice, before the prospective settler was 
given even the sorry privilege of taking his chanc- 
es with Life and Death, as a tiller of the virgin 
soil. The Red Man held forth in undisputed 
sway and little was accomplished toward the de- 
velopment of the great natural resources of Kan- 
sas, until after the close of the Civil War. 
(58) 



LIFE AND LKTT£:rS OF FATHER PAUL. 59 

The return of peace, the home coming of the 
surviving veterans, ready and eager to beat their 
swords into plow shares, marked the dawn of 
Day for Kansas, but the brave missionaries of 
the Catholic Church made their way here when 
the state was enveloped in the darkness of the 
night of savagery; when life and living meant 
one long struggle against seemingly overwhelm- 
ing odds, and when privation and hardship, in 
unrelenting fury, went stalking over the plains 
like a pestilence: In those days, the Civil War 
was undreamed of, even as a most remote possi- 
bility, and the saving of the souls of the Red Men 
was the only reward hoped for, the only gleam 
of light in the distance, in return for the her- 
culean labors of the followers of Christ. 

These men, the missionaries of the Catholic 
Church, who came out to the fringe of civiliza- 
tion to "preach and teach all nations," antedated 
the first white settler by many years. They crim^ 
soned the barren plains with their blood, and 
when civilization, with its few paltry comforts, 
had imprinted its seal on the territory, and liv- 
ing became at least bearable, the valiant disciples 
made their way still further into the darkness, 
following the trail of the savage, that the ''light 
might shine for all men.** 

Cheerful, uncomplaining, willing, were these 
volunteers in the Lord's vineyard, these soldiers 
fighting under the Flag of Christ, and they lived 
and kept their stout courage undaunted, thruout 
all the torturous years, because they "drank of 
the spiritual Rock that followed tliem, and that 
Rock was Christ." 

History cannot make men, but men make his- 
tory : the early Jesuit missionaries have illumined 
the brightest pages of American History with a 
simple record of their lives and works, and in 



6o life: and le;tte:rs of father paul. 

life as in death, have they dowered the Catholic 
Church with a heritage of immortal glory. That 
their works live after them, is attested by the 
spread of Christianity, not alone thruout Kan- 
sas, but thruout the length and breadth of the 
continent. 

The spirit which characterized the founders 
of the great Order of the Society of Jesus — Ig- 
natius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, in their 
work among the savage tribes of their day, re- 
veals itself in the labors of the men who came af- 
ter them, and who spent their lives among the In- 
dians of southeastern Kansas. These "Black 
Coats," as the}- were called by the Red men, nev- 
er for one moment forgot the motto of their 
Order — -Ad Majorein Dei Gloriani, — "All for the 
honor and glory of God," — and they attracted 
and won over the savage tribes thru their preacli- 
ing of Christ and Him Crucified. 

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
draw all things to myself," might well have been 
written of the work of the Jesuit missionaries. 

We read of St. Francis Xavier as he landed in 
Goa, the capital of the Portuguese Colony on the 
western coast of Hindoostan, taking lodgings in 
the Capital and associating with the poor. He 
won over the rich, and with bell in one hand and 
crucifix in the other, he exhorted the multitude to 
accept the religion of the Cross. Two hundred 
thousand souls he brought under the shadow of 
the Cross, the Flag of the gentle and lowly Naz- 
arene. The spirit of Xavier lived on, his work 
continued in America, brought the same glorious 
results, uid it may, in all truth and justice, be 
said that the present progressive and triumphant 
march of the Church in this country, next to God, 
owes itself to the incessant labors of the Jesuits. 

We arc not insensible to the insults that have 







1 1 I 



LIFE AND LETTe:rS OF FATHER PAUL. 6l 

been heaped upon these men of God by enemies 
within and without the fold and yet it is not nec- 
essary to Hne up in their defense. History stands 
out kiminously in their behalf. "Not a wilder- 
ness was opened, nor a stream turned," writes 
one of the great American historians, "but that 
a Jesuit led the way." Under the teachings of 
the Jesuits, the savages became skilled in all 
requisite mechanical handicrafts, learned in ag- 
riculture, tutored in a fixed order of life, and 
under the guidance of the "Black Coats," they 
showed the sweet simplicity of little children, in 
heart, intellect and manner. 

The Jesuits became all to all and truly so ; for 
they learned from the Apostle of the Gentiles, 
from the other eleven and from all the men of 
God, Avho walked in their way, and like them, 
converted many unto justice, that in no other way 
could the banner of Christ be so surely and so 
safely unfurled ; volumes might be written con- 
cerning the truly Christian zeal of these early 
Jesuit missionaries whose Order is well named 
the "Society of Jesus." — a body of men who have 
ever devoted themselves to carrying the Gospel 
to the ends of the earth, and whose deeds in the 
history of the Church shine like stars in the 
firmament of heaven. 

LOOKING BACKWARD. 

As far back as 1833 the Second Council of 
Baltimore asked that the various tribes of the 
trackless waste be given into the care of the 
Jesuit Fathers, and in 1834. Rome so decreed. 

Rev. Charles Van Ouickenborne, S. J., was 
the first priest to celebrate Mass in this part of 
the country and deserves, in consequence, the 
high title of pioneer priest of southeastern Kan- 



62 LiFi: AND LETTEJRS O^ FATHER PAUL. 

sas. Residing at Stanislaus, near Florissant, St. 
Louis County, where in 1824 he had opened a 
boarding school for Osage children, he continued 
to visit the Osa^es from time to time for ten 
years after they had moved westward into Kan- 
sas. In 1827, he visited Trading Post, Linn 
county; Harmony Mission, Bates county, Miss- 
ouri » Osage Agency, Neosho county, and Mar- 
maton, Bourbon county. He established many 
missionary stations among the Osage half breeds 
in the United States Army Barracks, and in other 
places. In 1830 he visited Grand Saline, Indian 
Territory, and in 1836, he established the Kick- 
apoo Mission, devoting the remaining years of 
his life to the members of that tribe of Indians. 

The other Indian tribes which had been re- 
moved by the government from east of the Miss- 
issippi to Kansas, also received his attention and 
care, especially the Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. 
Father Van Quickenborne died August 17, 1837, 
and his work among the Indians in Kansas, or 
Missouri Territory, as it was then called, was 
continued by other Jesuit Fathers. 

In 1847 the Pottawatomies began to remove 
to their new reservation on the Kansas River, St. 
Mary's becoming the headquarters of the nation. 
As the distance to the Osages was so great that 
it was difficult for the Jesuits to attend to their 
spiritual needs, the Osages applied for resident 
missionaries and accordingly, a new mission was 
opened among them. On April 28, 1847, I^^^. 
John Schoenmakers, S. J., and his companions 
reached the site that had been selected by Father 
Van Onickenborne, one of the missionaries of St. 
Mary's Mission, and upon which the Indian De- 
partment had built two log houses ; the Jesuits 
took formail possession of the place, known 
thereafter by the name of Osage Mission. The 



LIFE) AND LE:TTi:rS OF FATHER PAUL., 63 

first church "that was dedicated tp God in this 
beautiful valley of the Neosho, was built the fol- 
lowing year — 1848 — and in 1895 the name of the 
mission was changed to St. Paul. 

In those days, Kansas was a wild country, 
an Indian Territory, where, with the exception 
of a few trading posts, one could not find the 
home of a white man. Of the various tribes of 
Aborigines living in Kansas, the Osages were 
the most important nation, numbering some seven 
thousand souls. W'hen the home mission was 
well arranged, regular visits were begun to the 
Osages in their settlements, and missionary sta- 
tions were erected in the tract of land now com- 
prised in Wilson, Allen, Neosho, Montgomery 
and Labette counties. 

When the Osage mission was established, the 
Catholics in the state fell short of one hundred 
and fifty persons, and as laborers and mechanics 
became absolutely necessary for the development 
of the missions, the Jesuits called in Catholics, 
especially from the western boundar}^ of ^lissouri. 
These, seeing that nothing was to be feared from 
the Indians, sent for their families and friends. 
They naturally gathered about the Mission house 
and soon the mission churches became too small 
for the growing congregations. So, the white 
Catholics, meeting with no opposition, founded 
settlements of their own, tho, up to 1850, not a 
village of whites could be found thruout all this 
vast territory. 

Since the opening of Kansas in 1854, many 
Catholics settled in the eastern counties and new 
missionary stations were constantly being open- 
ed, until every border county had finally its own 
mission. The Osage lands, however, were con- 
sidered a Reservation and white people were not 
allowed to take up claims on them. Finally in 



64 LitJe AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

1869, when the Osages ceded much of their land 
to the U. S., a new and a very extensive territory 
was opened to emigration and a new field was 
created for missionary labors. Thus in the pro- 
gress of time 135 stations were started from the 
Osage missions in the 27 counties of S. E. Kan- 
sas, and gradually developed into flourishing con- 
gregations. As soon as a station was able to 
afford the expense, a church was built; about 
these churches new congregations were gathered 
and these by degrees were transferred to the 
Bishop, who put them in charge of secular priests. 

Until 1 85 1 all the Indian missions v/ere under 
the' See of St. Louis, but on March 25, 185 1, Rev. 
John B. Miege, S. J., was made Bishop and Vicar 
Apostolic of the Indian Territory, east of the 
Rocky Mountains ; probably five thousand Catho- 
lics were included in the entire domain. 

In July of this year the Bishop and Father 
Paul Mcry Ponziglione arrived at Osage Mission 
and were welcomed by Father Schoenmakers, the 
superior of the mission. It was a pleasant meet- 
ing, such a one as we find in the times of the 
Apostles, when clad in the armor of Faith, Hope 
and Charity, they were about to invade cities and 
nations with the sword of Christ. 

With the enthusiasm of Paul of Tarsus and 
the zeal of another Apostle, Father Paul M. Pon- 
ziglione inaugurated the great work which af- 
terwards won for him the glorious name of 
Apostle of South Eastern Kansas. 

This great missionary made Humboldt his 
headquarters returning at intervals to offer up 
the Moly Sacrifice of the Mass for the few 
pioneer Catholics of these days. 

Under his charge St. Joseph's church was built 
and the fir^t priest of our parish has not only 



LiFi: AND LETTe:rS of FATHIvR PAUL. 65 

made history but started the church in these parts 
on her glorious mission of peace and mercy. 



After some minor duties had been assigned 
him, in 1851, he began the principal work of his 
long life — his missionary toil among the Indian 
tribes in Southeastern Kansas — which he con- 
tinued for forty long years, "faithful unto the 
end." 

The following incident is related as an illus- 
tration of his earnestness in missionary work : 
He was in the habit of making long journies out 
into the West, and one time was absent so long 
that his Superior concluded that he must have 
been killed by the savages 'who then inhabited the 
beautiful prairies. Accordingly an order was 
promulgated to the effect that prayers should be 
said for the repose of his soul and just then 
Father Paul turned up. His desire to save souls 
and plant the cross thruout this Western coun- 
try braved all obstacles and rendered light all 
hardships. The true history of his life and work 
will never be written or ever fully known. 

When he, entered the Order of the Society of 
Jesus he died to the world. He was no longer a 
man with selfish longings and ambitions, but a 
part of the great Order, fighting under one head, 
whose only aim is to bring the world to God. 

It mattered not whom he met. Was it 'a sav- 
age bent on his destruction? The Holy Mass 
would protect him. Was ' it the lawless white ? 
It matters not. Whether white or red, civilized 
or savage, his work was before him and that 
work he would do. 

Like all'true missionaries, he forgot himself in 
his zeal and devotion to the cause of God, and 



66 LIFK AND LETTERS 01^ FATHER PAUL. 

was more anxious for the salvation of souls than 
the compilation of personal biographies. It was 
only after repeated demands on the part of his 
superiors that he condescended to give the 
meagre details that we have of his missionary 
life and labors. The first fruit of his own life 
was among the Indians who then owned and in- 
habited this beautiful country. In the year 1854 
we are told he established three missions among 
the Indians in Bourbon and Franklin counties. 
Pushing on into what was then beyond the bor- 
der of civilization, he made converts and erected 
an altar among the ''five nations" at Barnesville, 
Bourbon county; the Chippewas and Appanoose 
in Franklin county. In 1855 and 1856 he es- 
tablished three missions among the Indians in 
Bourbon county and in Franklin county, and in 
1855 one in Crawford county among the 
"whites." In 1858 his labors were incessant and 
the result was fifteen missions in the followmg 
places : Mbund City, Greeley, Anderson county ; 
Burlington, Leroy, Humboldt, Elizabethtown and 
lola, Allen county; two in Wilson and two in 
Greenwood counties, and one in each of the fol- 
lowing counties : Franklin, Crawford, Chero- 
kee and Woodson. 

During the year 1859 besides visiting his form- 
er stations, he established new one in Little 
Osage, Bourbon county; Pleasant Grove, Green- 
wood county ; Granby, Mo. ; Defiance, Woodson 
county, and Emporia, Lyon county. In i860 
two missions were organized, one in Marion and 
one in Allen counties. In 1863 the church in 
Fort Scott was established and Father Paul's 
diary shows another in Crawford county the fol- 
lowing year. In 1866 under the supervision of 
Fathers Ponziglione and Schoenmakers the 
old stone church in Humboldt was erected — the 



U^Tt: AND I^^TT^RS 01^ FATHER PAUL. 67 

first substantial building within a radius of many 
miles. 

The year 1869 saw six new missions start into 
life under Father Paul's unflagging earnestness, 
among them being the missions in Winfield and 
Hutchinson and a mission among the Kaw In- 
dains in Council Grove. In 1870 he was able 
to leave his already large congregation long 
enough to make converts and plant the standard 
of the cross in five new places. Eldorado was 
added to the list of towns where Catholic wor-^ 
ship was held. A mission among the In-diaa 
Osage half-breeds in Labette county, a mission 
in Greenwood, and a church in Independence were 
established. During this year Father Paul pur- 
chased the site in Wichita on which the Pro- 
Cathedral now stands and which is presided over 
by the able and scholarly Bishop of the Wichita 
diocese. 

Father Paul was now past the meridian of life 
and was looking toward sunset; one-half a cen- 
tury had passed since he came into the world in 
that far off village, in Italy ; yet his energy never 
weakened, his spirit never appeared weary. In 
1 871 his grand missionary spirit began to reach 
out to distant lands and explore hitherto obscure 
and savage places. He established stations 
among the Cheyenne Indians in the Territory and 
visited the soldiers at Fort Sill. The year 1872 
brought W^ellington into line and the year 1873 
added Oxford in Sumner, and Sedan and Elgin 
in Chautauqua county. 

Until the latter part of the year 1870, the 
Jesuits had charge of most of the missions in 
Kansas, tho data concerning their final transfer 
to the Bishop are very meagre. On December 
31, 1 87 1, Father Ponziglione writes, '^During 
the summer, the Right Rev. Bishop Miege, hav- 



68 UFE AND LETTE:RS OF FATHER PAUL. 

ing two new priests at his disposal, sent them 
to us that we might station them in some of our 
missions. One was placed at Baxter Springs 
and charged with the care of Labette, Cherokee 
and Crawford counties, besides a small part of 
the adjacent Indian Territory. The other was 
placed at Cottonwood Falls, from which he will 
attend all stations established on the Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, from Emporia 
in Lyon, to Wichita in Sedgwick county. On 
August I, 1878, I transferred to Rev. Robert 
Luchrer, sent by Right Rev. Bishop L. M. Fink, 
the charge of all the missions I had in the coun- 
ties of Alontgomery, Elk and Chautauqua, re- 
serving for myself the missions in Wilson county 
and the Indian Territory." 

The first Catholic church was erected in Cher- 
ry vale by Father Paul in the year 1877 ^"^ from 
this year to 1886 The Great Missioner labored 
in the Indian Territory among the Creeks and 
Osages, the Shoshones and the Arapohoes. In 
the spring of 1889, there was much trouble with 
the Crow tribe on their reservation in Montana, 
and Father Paul was asked to go among them 
and use his influence as a peacemaker, which he 
did with marked results. In 1891 Father Pon- 
ziglione was called to St. Ignatius College, Chi- 
cago, where up to the time of his death, he was 
employed in pastoral duties and various works of 
zeal and charity, especially aiding the poor and 
lowly of that city. He died a most edifying 
death on March 28, 1900. Surrounded by his 
companions of the Society of Jesus, he kissed 
the cruciifix as death drew nigh, and said aloud 
until the breath of life has vanished, the acts of 
faith, hope and charity. 

Thus ended the earthly career of that sainted 
missioner, the Apostle of South Eastern Kansas, 



LIFE AND LE:TTje:rS OF FATHER PAUL. 69 

the son of noble parentage, who, when life was 
young, and offered him all its allurements in the 
way of worldly place and honor, luxury and the 
fleeting pleasures of an even more fleeting life, 
calmly cast aside all for the robe of a missioner 
of Christ. 

How fitting that this great man who relinquish- 
ed all worldly honors and preferment, might be 
permitted to carry the cross of the Savior into 
the wilderness, to administer to the poor and 
lowly ones of this earth, and to unfold the beau- 
tiful stG.y of the gentk Nazarene to countless 
numbers of sav<xg^s who, thru his ministrations 
came under the beneficent influences of the cross 
of Christ 

During his life Father Paul had some narrow 
escapes at the hands of the Indians and outlaws 
who frequently raided and ruined the homes of 
the early settlers. Scouring the wilderness with 
his saddle-bags or span of dun-colored ponies 
and white canvassed topped wagon every hard- 
ship was known to him. 

Father Paul crovv^ned his life's work by build- 
ing the stately and imposing structure at St. 
Paul, Kansas. 

It is true that Father Paul did not shed his 
blood like some other Apostles, neither did St. 
Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, yet who can 
measure the far-reaching results of the work 
of the Irish Apostle? Father Paul planted the 
Cross deep down in Kansas soil, and his name 
will forever go down in the history of this State, 
as the Spiritual conqueror of the Indian Tribes. 

There is no sculptor or artist, be he who may, 
that can be compared to the man who knows how 
to form the minds and hearts of the human fam- 
ily. It is a work far surpassing the finest crea- 
tions in human art, to reproduce in souls the liv- 



70 LIFK AND LETTERS OF i^ATH^R PAUL. 

ing image of Jesus Christ. In this work Father 
Paul Ponzighone proved himself a master and 
won the admiration of humanity ; therefore, dear 
reader, forget him not. 



CHAPTER III. 

A NON-CATHOLlC^S COMMENT. 

John R. Brunt published the following in the 
Neosho County Journal, February 14, 1889: 

From the day Father Paul entered the little 
log mission, on the banks of the Neosho, to the 
present, his zeal has only been equalled by his 
work. Father Schoenmakers found in him truly 
an able and willing coadjutor; united, and hand 
in hand they worked and prayed. In those early 
days the war-path was the Indian's joy; bedeck- 
ed with beads, daubed with paint and mounted 
upon their ponies, they rode forth in quest of 
scalps and plunder; then these men of peace 
would appear among them, often at the risk of 
their lives, and by their kind words prevail upon 
them, to give up their bloody purpose. Thus 
many frontiersmen and their families were saved 
from the tomahawk and scalping knife, and their 
homes from the flames. It was due greatly to 
their efforts that the Osages were restrained 
from taking up arms against the government 
during our long and bloody civil war, but re- 
mained comparatively peacable while the war 
raged aicund them. During those dark and ter- 
rible days of the war these men remained at 
their post, reHeving distressed, bleeding and the 
hungry and caring for the sick. The Mission, 
situated as it was, between the contending forces 
was constantly visited by soldiers of each army, 
but whether he wore the blue, the gray, the 
blanket of the Indian, he was fed; none were 

(71) 



72 lylFK AND LKTTlvRS OF t^ATHKR PAUL. 

turned hungry away by these friends of humani- 
ty, but all were treated as sons of one father, and 
therefore brethren. Their good works are rec- 
ognized by all. Towns and villages were de- 
stroyed both north and south during those dread- 
ful days of internicene strife, but the Mission 
was not harmed by either side. 

On the 29th of September, 1865, ^^^e Great and 
Little Osages, by treaty, ceeded to the United 
States a part of their land, a tract fifty miles 
square including Neosho and Ivabette counties, 
and in the consideration of the kindness and 
great benefits they had received from the Jesuit 
Fathers, they insisted that two sections of land 
covering the Mission and im])rovements should 
be patented by the government to the Fathers 
for the church and schools, thus giving them 
beautiful and valuable real estate propeity, and 
placing the institution on a firm basis. Since 
that time im])rovement has been rapidly going on, 
and each succeeding year sees some new addition 
made. At the present time St. Francis' church 
is one of the largest and most beautiful village 
churches in the Ignited States, and is e(|ualled 
by very few city churches in the west. The 
colleges of St. Francis and St. Ann are the ecjual 
of any in the state and are always crowded, and 
each year many students are refused for lack 
of room. These have been and still are. Father 
Paul's especial pride and are the monuments of 
his life; but his work was not confined alone to 
them nor to this field. He establisheid missions 
among the Indians all over Kansas, more especi- 
ally the south part, and also in the Indian Terri- 
tory and away in the wilds of Wyoming. In all, 
Father Paul established sixty-one missions, and 
he took a prominent part in eighty-two others 
that were established by the Fathers of this place. 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 73 

During all this time he has not forgotten the 

members of his parish at this place. We have 

known him to go all the way to Pawhuska, Ind. 

Ter., to attend at the side of the death bed of one 

who has requested his attendance, and this in : 

winter thru cold and storm. Where duty called j 

he went. Father Paul is loved and revered by ( 

all the church here, more especially by the older f 

members who have known him for many years. 

We heard a lady who had attended St. Francis' 

church for nearly thirty years say; " I hope I 

die before Father Paul ; I want him when I die ; 

he is always the same." He needs no words of 

praise. His history is written in his deeds. 






CHAPTER IV. 

AN APPRECIATION. 

BY MISS lizzie: BE:RRY. 

Father Paul (did not have a tall and command- 
ing form, but was rather short in stature. He 
had a noble Roman style of countenance, a keen 
black eye, which in youth harmonized with a 
crown of jet black hair, but which turned silvery 
white long before time marked his brow with 
many furrows. There was something in his 
cheerful and genial, yet at the same time reserv- 
ed manner, which at once indicated his noble 
birth and gentle breeding. His striking aquiline 
features were full of wonderful expression as 
he talked, in fact his whole being was then call- 
ed into action, for his gestures were as expres- 
sive as his words ; this in connection with hi!> 
varied and almost inexhaustible fund of knowl- 
edge made Father Paul's "stories" so fascinating 
to the young. He had a peculiar love for chil- 
dren especially "his little boys" as he called them, 
but his fondness for them never encouraged any 
familiarity which might lead to disrespect to- 
wards him. He invariably carried in his pockets 
a supply of little holy pictures, medals, Agnus 
Deis, etc., to distribute among the children whom 
he would meet on his rounds of visits. His 
smiling face and fatherly pat on each little head 
with a "God bless you," coming like a fervent 
prayer from the heart, won their love. Father 
Paul was not fastidious in dress. He wore 
(74) 



U^e: and letters of father PAUL. 75 

coarse clothes, heavy boots, a low black felt hat, 
in winter flannel shirts and something like what 
is now called a sweater under his coat and knit- 
ted wristlets, the last a yearly gift from good 
Mother Bridget. This attire is not to be wonder- 
ed at when we consider the mode of travel in 
early days. For many years he traveled on 
horseback, often sleeping on the bare ground 
with nothing but his saddle-blanket for a pillow 
and no other companion but his horse fastened 
somewhere nearby. In later years he drove a 
team of ponies to a little covered wagon. He 
generally carried a few provisions with him, as 
he would sometimes travel whole days without 
getting anything to eat. He told this story after 
returning from one of his journeys. It was a 
hot day and he had traveled many hours without 
taking any refreshment. He became very thirsty 
and rejoiced when he came in sight of an Indian 
tepee and was met by a friendly squaw. He 
kindly asked for a drink of water. She was glad 
to show him this hospitality and took a cup, or 
whatever kind of a drinking vessel she had, and 
carefully wiped it out with her long black hair 
before filling it with water. He could not over- 
come the nausea caused by this sight,^ so he 
merely put the cooling liquid to his burning lips 
and by a quick movement drew her attention 
away from him. She remained ignorant of the 
strategy, for an Indian would never forgive an 
abuse of kindness. She was happy under the 
impression of having allayed his thirst. The In- 
dians are naturally dirty and lousy, therefore it 
should not produce a shock to a sensitive nature 
nor provoke a feeling of disgust to know that 
Father Paul could not at all times come in con- 
tact with so much filth and not become infected ; 
rather it should send a thrill of admiration for 



76 life; and i,p:tti:rs of fathdr paul. 

the heroic sacrifice of his Hfe which might have 
been spent in the luxurious rooms of an Itahan 
palace or roaming thru its sweet-scented gar- 
dens, instead of going from wigwam to wigwam 
among the savages of the forest. There were a 
few Catholic families in a small town sixty-five 
miles from Osage Mission, now St. Paul, and 
Father Paul visited them at stated intervals, al- 
ways staying at the home of one particular fam- 
ily while ministering to the spiritual wants of 
this little flock. On one occasion he went 
there and as usual the hostess arranged the spare 
bed-room with everything for his comfort, and 
as it was late in autumn wheii the nights were 
cool, she took out a fine pair of white wool 
blankets and placed them on his bed. Before re- 
tiring to rest that night Father Paul spent some 
time chatting and inquiring about all his friends 
and what had transpired since his last visit, he 
appeared a little restless after his tiresome jour- 
ney. The following morning the small congre- 
gation assembled at this same house, and as was 
his custom, he celebrated Mass and administered 
the sacraments to them. He did not tarry long 
after his priestly ministrations were accomplish- 
ed, but journeyed back to the Jesuit home in 
Osage Mission, After the guest departs the tidy 
housewife usually proceeds to clean and air the 
room he occupies during his sojourn. According- 
ly this one in question went about the work and 
soon found she had a hard task before her, for 
her beautiful soft blankets were infested with ver- 
min. Father Paul had spent the previous night 
at an Indian wigwam and was not yet fully aware 
of the presence of the vermin on his clothing. 

Father Paul endured all inconveniences and 
hardships silently and patiently, because his hap- 
piness sprung from within himself and was in- 





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LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL, '^'J 

dependent of external circumstances, for he had 
that inexhaustible good nature wh|ich is the 
most precious gift of Heaven; spreading itself 
like oil over the troubled sea of thought and 
keeping the mind smooth and equable in the 
roughest weather. 

Th^ Indians loved Father Paul and manifest- 
ed their friendship for him in many ways. Yes, 
he even owed his life more than once to their 
loyalty. In a letter written while out on a mis- 
sion among the Indians in St. Stephen's Mission, 
where he labored nearly a year, he narrated this 
incident : He was riding in a lonely and deso- 
late part of the country where there was not a 
sign of human life visible. He had missed the 
trail, losing the direction -in some way, so he 
attempted to cross a stream but when about mid- 
way, he encountered a rapid current and deep 
water so that he lost control of his pony and 
found that he could not save himself from drown- 
ing. With a fervent prayer from his heart he 
resigned himself to the Will of God. Suddenly, 
as if an angel came from Heaven a friendly In- 
dian appeared upon the bank and leaped to his 
rescue. 

Few men ever embodied more greatness. He 
had every accomplishment and every quality man- 
kind reveres and strives for. He was a great 
writer, a great scholar, but above all he was a 
great, true priest, winning the immortal crown 
of victory after a long life of more than four 
score vears. 



CHAPTER V. 

MR. BREWSTER'S ADDRESS. 

On December 6, 1904, Samuel W. Brewster, 
of Chanute,. Kansas, delivered an address before 
the Kansas Historical Society at Topeka, Kansas, 
on the life work of Father Paul. Below is quot- 
ed all that part of his address which is not too 
great a repetition of what has already been said 
in this book. Mr. Brewster dees not hold the 
religious belief of Father Paul, hence what he 
said may be taken as an appreciation of the real 
personal, character and work of the great mis- 
sionary. Mr. Brewster spoke as follows : 

Love always expresses itself in service. He 
who lives forever in the minds and hearts of his 
countrymen has loved humanity. Thru humble, 
daily service, in kindly deeds to the unfortunate 
of earth, men become truly great. 
!> History is not an impartial critic. By reason 
pf material prosperity, one may be considered 
treat in his day and generation, but such great- 
ness "is oft interred with his bones." Croesus is 
remembered but for one thing — wealth. In his- 
tory, he is a cold proposition. The name Nero 
produces a creeping, cringing sensation which 
time never can obliterate. But to be lovingly 
reverenced b}^ all generations, one must be a 
Buddha, a Socrates, a Savonarola, or a Ponzig- 
lione. 

It often happens that, after great institutions 
are founded and immortal characters are built, 
the suggestive thought back of it all is forgotten. 
(78) 



LII^E AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 79 

Oftener it is unknown to the world. In consider- 
ing Osage Mission and the Hfe-work of Father 
Paul M. Ponziglione, as missionary among the 
Indians, one would hardly anticipate a suggestion 
coming directly or indirectly from the great 
statesman, John C. Calhoun. 

In the 3^ear 1823, when Calhoun was secretary 
of war under President Monroe, the Right Rev- 
erend Louis Dubourg, bishop of Upper and Low- 
er Louisiana, consulted the president and secre- 
tary of war in regard to devising means for the 
education of Indian children within his diocese. 
Mr. Calhoun suggested the advisability of asking 
the Jesuit priests of Maryland to furnish mem- 
bers of their order to assist in such work. At 
White Marsh. Prince George county, Maryland, 
there were a number of young priests who, in 
182 1, has come with Rev. Charles Nerinckx from 
Europe for the purpose of devoting their lives 
to missionary work. Rev. Charles Van Quick- 
enborne. a Belgian priest from Ghent, was then 
master of novices at White Marsh. He had corne 
to the United States in 181 7, hoping to become 
a Jesuit missionary among the Indians. 

Bishop Dubourg conveyed Mr. Calhoun's sug- 
gestion to Father Van Quickenborne, at White 
Marsh, who at once saw the great opportunity 
of realizing his life hope — to be a missionary 
among the Indians. 

On making known this newly suggested plan 
to the young priests who had come to the United 
States Vith Father Nerinckx, six of them, Bel- 
gians, immediately volunteered to accompany 
Father Van Quickenborne on his distant mission- 
ary journey to the West. 

Bishop Dubourg generously offered to donate 
to these Maryland Jesuits a rich farm at Floris- 
sant, near the Missouri river, and to put them in 



80 life: and letters of father PAUL. 

possession of his own church and residence in 
St. Louis. 

In 1827 Father Van Quickenborni^ left his 
Jesuit home in Missouri and made his first visit 
to the land of the Osage Indians in southenr 
Kansas. 

He made two other visits to the Osages — in 
1829 and 1830. But the noble work of the 
Jesuits among the Osage Indians took on per- 
manent and lasting character in the spring of 
1847, when they built a chuich and established 
schools at the place where Father Van Quick- 
eiiborne first acquainted these untutored savages 
with the virtues of the Christian religion. 

For nearly half a century this place was known 
as Osage Mission. Then, without regard for 
historic association, thru an unfortunate and mis- 
taken notion entertained by some of the leading 
citizens, the name was changed to St. Paul, April 
12, 1895. The town is located in Neosho county, 
Kansas, about ten miles southeast of the geo- 
graphical center of the county near the beautiful 
Neosho river. 

There is a beautiful legend (which can hardly 
be called a legend, for want of age to make it 
such) that Father Van Quickenborne was the 
"Black Robe chief" of the mission where Long- 
fellow's Evangeline, 

"Just as the sun went dozmi, . . . heard 

a murnmr of voices, 
And in a meadotv green and broad, by the bank 

of a river, 
Sazv the tents of the Christians, the tents of the 

Jesuit Mission.*' 

*'Vfider a tozvering oak, tha\t stood in the midst 
of the village, 



I.IF^ AND LETTKRS OF FATHE:r PAUL. »I 

Knelt the Black Robe chief zmth his children. A 
crucifix fastened 

High on the trunk of the tree, and overshadowed 
by grape-vines, 

Looked zmth its agonised face on the multitude 
kneeling beneath it. 

7' his zms their rural chapel. Aloft, thru the in- 
tricate arches 

Of its aerial roof, arose the chant of their ves- 
pers, 

Mingling its notes zmth the soft susurrus and 
sighs of the branches.^' 

It would be impossible to give a fair sketch of 
Father PonzigHone and his work among the 
Osage Indians without mentioning two very im- 
portant personages connected with him in his 
labors — ^Reverend Father John Schoenmakers and 
Mother Superior Bridget Hayden — the first, a 
young Jesuit priest from Holland, and the sec- 
ond, a nun of the order of the Sisters of Loretto, 
from Kentucky. 

^ ^ ^ >;: * :ii ^i -^ '^ rj: 

While Father Schoenmakers was the actual) 
founder of Osage Mission, he had been preceded, 
as said lieretofore, by Father Van Quickenborne, 
in 1827, who in turn was preceded by Rev. 
Charles de la Croix, in 1822. The particular 
incident recorded of Father de la Croix's visit 
to the Osages was the baptism of two Indian 
children, James and Francis Choteau — the first 
within this state. 

The first marriage ceremony of record within 
the state was that of Francis Daybeau, a half- 
breed, and Mary, an Osage woman, performed 
by Father Van Quickenborne in 1829 — ^both the 
baptism and marriage ceremonies occurring 
where Osage Mission was subsequently founded. 



82 LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

Father Schoenmakers died July 28, 1883, at 
the age of seventy-six. His death caused univer- 
sal sadness thruout both Catholic and Protestant 
communities, for he was loved and reverenced 
by all who knew him. He was buried in the 
Catholic cemetery at Osage Mission, where a 
simple marble slab marks his grave ; but his noble 
life stands as a lasting monument for genera- 
tions to come. 

Mother Bridgfil-^ayden, the co-worker with 
Fathers Schoenmakers and Ponziglione, was born 
in 181 5. October 5, 1847, she arrived at Osage 
Mission with a small band of Sisters of Loretto 
from Kentucky, and at once established a school 
for the education of Indian girls. This school 
grew very rapidly, and with the settlement of 
the country, its privileges were extended to the 
white girl's. Soon an academy, or boarding- 
school, was started, the first boarding-school for 
girls in Kansas. The popularity of this academy 
extended beyond the borders of the state, so that, 
in a few years, several states and territories were 
represented on the roster of the school. This in- 
stitution was maintained until September, 1895, 
when the buildings were destroyed by fire, and 
never have been rebuilt. The Sisters of Loretto 
having left the mission after the fire, other sis- 
ters started a day-school ; but only the pictur- 
esque ruins remain on the site of this once popu- 
lar and famous academy. 

Mother Bridget continued in charge of the 
girls* school for about forty years, and until the 
day of her death. She was a most lovable char- 
acter. Eminently practical, her generosity knew 
no bounds. Her hand was always outstretched 
to the weak and needy. Many a poor girl, with 
no way or means of acquiring an education, was 



LIFD AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 83 

lovingly helped by Mother Bridget thru St. Ann's 
Academy. 

In 1870 Noble L. Prentis visited Osage Mis- 
sion. Upon the death of Mother Bridget, some 
years later, Mr. Prentis, recalling this visit, paid 
a tender tribute to this saintly woman in an edi- 
torial article, from which the following extract 
is taken : 

"It was at this visit that the writer met, for the 
first and last time, Bridget Hayden. known to 
the world as Mother Bridget. Born in 1815, her 
hair was white in 1870. She had passed thru, in 
her earlier years in the wilderness, quite enough 
to change its color. She was a woman of com- 
manding look, and spoke in a firm, resolute but 
quiet way, as one should, accustomed to impress 
herself on human creatures brought to her as 
wild as any bird or beast in all their native prai- 
ries ; this she had done and more — she had gained 
their affections. The conversation which she 
held at once took a religious turn, and the listener 
would be very ungrateful if he did not remem- 
ber that Mother Bridget, as well she might from 
the privilege of her years, spoke to him like a 
mother indeed, not of churches and creeds, but 
of the necessity of personal righteousness." 

It is easy to do good when no sacrifices are re- 
quired. Too often the best preacher is 'called" 
to the best-paying place. But the greatest mani- 
festation and supreme test of religious worth and 
nobility of character is when the preacher or 
priest renounces once and forever all the allur- 
ing fascinations of position, wealth and honor 
to cast his lot with the less fortunate of earth's 
children, and devote his energies and abilities to 
the uplifting of humanity. 

There seems to have been with Father Paul 
an inborn, manifest destiny for the priesthood. 



84 IvlFK AND LETTERS OF FATHE^R PAUL. 

A religious instinct controlled him from the 
earliest years of his life. As a small boy, play- 
ing with his little sicter in his father's palace 
gardens, he was accustomed to don ,the vestments 
cf the priest. This seems to have aroused the 
childish jealousy of his sister, and to all his 
grave arguments that only boys and men could 
be priests, she turned a deaf ear. 

In this connection Father Paul once related a 
pathetic incident to a friend in Osage Mission. 
When a boy, in representing himself as a priest, 
Paul would assume the serious, severe attitude, 
ir. contrast to the little girl's laughing joyous dis- 
position. And in after-years, when the sister had 
entered a convent adjoining the monastery where 
her brother was preparing for his priestly call- 
ing, the echo of her girlish laughter, vibrating 
thru the sacred stillness of his surroundings, 
often fell harshly upon the ears of the young 
novice engaged in his devotions. As yet, with the 
overzealousness of youth, he could not under- 
stand how a heart devoted to God could harbor 
any but solemn, religious thoughts. So, upon 
one occasion, he reprimanded his sister, in the 
presence of the mother superior, for her light- 
heartedness ; but in turn, he \fas reprimanded 
by the mother superior, who, by reason of many 
years of experience, comprehended religious life 
from a different standpoint. But there came a 
change, a brief sickness, and the lovely spirit of 
the young sister passed out from the gray con- 
vent walls into the pure delights of the city 
beautiful. Now. after more than half a century, 
the aged priest, broadened by years of loving, 
consecrated service "to humankind, longed to 
hear again the echoed music of that girlish laugh- 
ter. 



LIFE AND LE:TTERS OF FAtHER PAUL. 85 

While still in Italy, he had determined to spend 
his life as a missionary among the American In- 
dians, and in pursuance of this resolve he had of- 
fered himself as such to the Rev. Anthony Elet, 
S. J., superior of the western Jesuits in the 
United States. Soon thereafter Father Elet sent 
him word that the general of the Jesuit society 
had assigned him to their mission in Missouri. 

Upon leaving St. Xavier's College Father PauL 
proceeded directly to St. Louis and reported to 
Father Elet, who immediately assigned him to 
missionary work in Missouri and Kentucky. He 
spent two years in this field and then returned 
to St. Louis. 

Now begins the realization of his early hopes 
— the commencement of his real life-work among 
the Indians. hr^Mafdv-JLBSi^-acG^mpanied by 
the Right-Ej£Yj£f#^^td- ^Iicgc, S. -j-, bishop of Leav- 
enworth, Father- PatTWe4t-St.JLDuis for his far 
western mission _^,-^\%iIr'trr?- h o me w as to be at 
Osag-e_Jirission, aiid-his particular charges the 
Osages, his missianary labors extended from 
FremoTit^Peak, Wyo., to Fort Sill, I. T. 

Father Paul M. Ponziglione was now a young 
man thirty-three years of age, a little above me- 
dium height, of slender build, and possessing an 
attractive personality. Much has been said of 
the personal beauty of the man. His features 
were aristocratic, of the distinctly higher Italian 
type. His large, well-shaped head was crowned 
with a luxuriant growth of close, jetty curls ; the 
forehead, high and broad, betokened great intel- 
lectuality: the eyes, tho dark and penetrating, 
were mild in expression, and tempered with a 
bare suggestion of sadness ; his nose was some- 
what of the Grecian type, and the thin, firmly 
closed lips slightly drooped at the comers. The 



86 UJI'K AND Lli'fTKRS OF FATHER PAUL. 

chin, tho prominent, was in symmetry with the 
rest of his face. 

Every one who knew the good Father, speaks 
of the radient kindliness of Jiis greeting smile, 
which was but the "outward and visible sign of 
an inward and spiritual grace." Upon his coun- 
tenance at all times dwelt that "beauty of holi- 
ness." far surpassing any earthly beauty. 

;K ::'. -'f :[■• :!c :|c ' * "^ * * 

/Dnrinj^ the first ,tv/enty-five years of Father 
Paul's life among the Osages they remained in 
southeastern Kansas. This was one of the bright- 
est periods in their history. 

And these were golden days for Father Pon- 
ziglione. He was working out among those wild 
people, in what was then called the "Great Ameri- 
can Desert," the ambition of his youth. From 
the time he was first met, many miks from the 
Mission, by Indian couriers, sent to conduct him 
to his new home, to the day of his death, he was 
their loving father and counselor. He was the 
court of last resort for their individual and public 
grievances. He was their honored guest upon all 
occasions of feasting ard merrymaking. He bap- 
tised their children, and was "a light unto their 
feet" in all the wavs of education and righteous- 
ness. He united their youn? men and women in 
marriage. He ministered alike to their physical 
and spiritual needs. He watched by their death- 
beds and administered the last sacrament. There 
was no road too rough, no distance too great, no 
weather too hr)t or too cold, no vigil too long or 
lonelv. when suffering humanity called Father 
Paul. Well might he have said: 
'"^hc flcaths vc Jw7'e died T hai>e waiched brside. 
Afi4 the Ih'es ve have lived were mine.'* 

The particular scope of Father Ponziglione's 
mission work in -Kansas extended from Cherokee 



LIFE AND LETTERS Of FATHER PAUL. 8/ 

county north to Miami county, thence to Fort 
L^rned, Pawnee county, and so on thru the 
counties along the southern state line back to 
the home mission. He was first to spread the 
Gospel in thirty of the counties of the state in- 
cluded in the circuit just mentioned. He also 
penetrated the wild regions of the Indian Terri- 
tory, and established missionary stations at the 
Indian agencies and military posts as far south 
as Fort vSill, near the Texas line. So this noble 
father and his self-sacrificing co-workers, start- 
ing from the mother church at Osage Amission, 
within forty years established i8o Catholic mis- 
sions, eighty-seven of which were in southern 
Kansas and twenty-one in the Indian Territory. 

The great reverence in which Father F^aul was 
held by all Indians from his first acquaintance 
with them, and the extent of his reputation as 
their friend, is shown by the following incident: 

In the early fifties he was overtaken by a band 
of wild Indians near where Fort Scott now 
stands. Not knowing him, the savages held a 
short council, and then prepared to burn him at 
the stake. When he had been firmly bound and 
all things were ready to carry out their purpose, 
an Indian v/oman came and gazed intently upon 
his face for a minute. A flash of recognition 
passed over her countenance, and she threw up 
her hands in dismay. Then turning to his cap- 
tors she spoke a few quick words, and they as 
quickly released him from his bonds. Then they 
had nothing too great to offer him, and, in their 
uncouth way, made every demonstration of 

frendliness. 
******** * 

In^B^g^jhe Osages withdrew forever from 
Kansas into the Indian Territory, but Father 
Paul never once relaxed his watchfulness over 



88 LlFK AND LK'iTJ'KS OF FATHlvR PAUL. 

his red children. It was his unvarying custom 
to meet ])ers()nally every member ol" the tribe 
once a year. I J is dun-colored ])onies and white- 
canvass-toi)|)ed spring wagon were a familiar 
sight to thou.sands of jieople. 

;!: :;: '.]■ ■■,• ■'.■ -'.■ '\- t- * 

'J'lial beautiful e^lifice in C>)sage Missic^n, wide- 
ly kn()w^ji^sJ>t..iu*MT^i^ -church, and the most im- 
posing structure of its kind in the state, with 
the exception of 'the Catholic cathedral at fveav- 
enworth, is one of the many evidences of I'^ather 
Paul's indefatigable energy and untiring devotion 
to the Catliolic faith. Without accident, the 
sacred l)uilding will stand for centuries. The 
niasoncry of theM)uilding is unsurpassed by any 
in workmanshi]) and solidity. The walls, which 
are of sand-st<»ne, two and one-half feel thick, rise 
thirty-two feet at the lowest iK)int, wind sixty- 
seven feet at the highest point, from the level 
of the floor, 'i'hc belfry tower, twenty-four by 
twenty-four feet, is of stone, and it is seventy 
feet to the to]) of the masonry on which the beU 
rests. All this is capped by thirty-two feet of 
wooden structure, making the com])1ete height 
of the tower 102 feet. One hundred and twenty 
car-loads of sand and plaster material were used 
in the construction of the 1)uilding. The founda- 
tion cost $7,000; $23,440 were paid to mechanics 
for wages; the doors and windc^ws were $5,800; 
then came the great altar, the side altars, the heat- 
ing a])paralus, the immense i')ii)e-organ, and oth- 
er furnishings, making the entire cost of the 
building, as it now stands, $90,000. 

Owing to the great liberality manifested by 
Catholics everywhere, even the full-blooded 
O.sages, then residing in the Indian Territory, 
contributing, this magnificent church was abso- 
lutely free from debt when, (^n the 1 ith day of 



LIFE AND LETTERS Of FATHER PAUL. S() 

May, 1884, it was solemnly dedicated to St. 
Francis de Hieronymo, by the Right Reverend 
John Hogan, D. D., bishop of Kansas City, Mo, 
On February 27, 1889, Father PonzigHone 
celebrated his golden jubilee at Osage Mission, 
the occasion being the fiftieth anniversary of his 
admission to the Jesuit society Many hundreds 
of people were present. Men of national repu- 
tation and high church connections came great 
distances to pay tribute to one of the most gen- 
erally beloved characters in the American Catho- 
lic church. 

* ;ic -^ :;; >!: ;5c :Jc * * 

In the spring of 1889, there was much trouble 
with the Crow tribe on their reservation in Mon- 
tana. It was thought that Father Paul might be 
able to do more with them than any one else. 
So he w^as asked to go there and use his influence 
as a peacem.aker. which he did with marked re- 
sults. But his leaving the home Mission cast a 
deep sadness over southern Kansas and the In- 
dian Territory; for, owing to his advanced age, 
every one felt the improbability of his ever re- 
turning to Kansas. 

Father Ponziglione left Montana to become 
historian of St. Ignatius' College, in Chicago, 
in 1891. It is remarkable that thruout his life 
as an Indian missionary he always maintained 
his high degree of scholarship, and to the day 
of his death was considered one of the finest 
Latin scholars in the Jesuit society. He was an 
able writer of both prose and poetry in Latin 
composition. 

In connection with his work at St. Ignatius's 
College, he was assistant pastor at the Jesuit 
church. He heard confessions, visited the sick, 
and it is said that in the pinging of High Mass 
his rich tenor voice rang out clear and strong as 



90 Litlv AI\D LKTTKRS OF FATHER PAUL. 

in the days of his youth, tho now an octogena- 
rian. 

But his great sympathetic soul always turned 
to the weak and helpless. Added to his other 
work in Chicago, he became chaplain of St. Jo- 
seph's Home for Deaf Aliites, and organized two 
sodalities among them, one for the young men 
and the other for young women. He prepared 
sermotis, psalms and prayers for ,them in the 
sign language. Outside of his own parish, he 
also did active work in the Visitation and Aid 
Societies, and for nearly ten years he preached 
the Gospel to the inmates of the Bridewell, in 
Chicago. 

On the 25,th of March, a. d. 1898, Father Paul 
celebrated, in the city of Chicago, the fiftieth 
anniversary of his priesthood. It was a notable 
occasion for a notable man. A Jesuit priest's 
religious and educational training is so long and 
thoro that but few ever live to have a golden 
jubilee. The wonderful character of Father Pon- 
ziglione as count, priest, Indian missionary, his- 
torian and writer made the event extremely in- 
teresting, and it became one of national church 
importance. 

Just two years later — two more full years of 

unceasing service for Christ and humanity — and 

the venerable father passed peacefully on to the 

higher realizations of spiritual truth. After a 

I short sickness with bronchial pneumonia, Father 

/ Ponziglionc died, at St. Ignatius's College, in 

/ Chicago, on Wednesday night, INiarch 28, 1900, 

( a little past his eighty-second vear. 

No great and good man belongs exclusively to 
any particular religious, social or political or- 
ganization. Influences for good must extend to 
all humanity, and the noble character of Father 
Paul stands hke "the shadow of a great rock in 



IvlFD AND IvKTTERS OF FATHE^R PAUL. 91 

a weary land," offering peace and comfort to 
the heavy-laden and distressed. Whilst always 
he was a most ardent Roman Catholic, his soul 
was too great to be circumscribed, and he was 
the father, friend and priest to every one who 
knew him. This was Christlike — this was Pon- 
ziglione. 

In considering the character of a state or na- 
tion, we are apt to look at the purely social and 
political, and to lose sight of the moral and 
religious factors. Who can estimate a strong 
man's influence for good? Who can measure 
the worth of Father Ponziglione in the formative 
period of this state? In one of his last letters 
to a friend he wrote: 

"If, during a period of forty-nine years, the 
Osages, as a nation, did not take up arms against 
the United States government; if they did not 
make a wholesale slaughter of trains and cara- 
vans while crossing the plains; if they did not 
ransack the country along the border of both 
Missouri and Kansas ^ if, in a word, they did not 
turn hostile to the white people, this is due, in a 
great part, to the influence of the Catholic church, 
exerted over them thru her missionaries." 

While true in general of the church, it should 
be more particularly applied to Father Ponzigli- 
one himself; for his wonderful personality and 
Christlike character predominated at all times, 
in all places, and over all people, for the univer- 
sal and perpetual betterment of social and po- 
litical conditions. 

His character so thoroly impressed upon the 
thousands of students educated at St. Francis' 
College and St. A^rni's Academy, in Osage Mis- 
sion, stands also as an imperishable monument 
to his greatness. 

So endeth this life's work of Father Paul M. 



92 1,1 FK AND LKTTKKvS OF FATHKR PAUL. 

Ponziglionc, the last representative of the noble 
houses of (kierra and Ponzigh'one, who left 
friends, wealth and nobility in Italy to become 
an humble Jesuit priest and missionary among 
the western American Indians, and whose life 
was so pure, whose human sympathy was so 
great, that to know him was to feel the impulse 
of his righteousness. 

The influence of his unpretentious life, coming 
thru quiet channels, are so pure and simple, so 
great and lasting, as to make the name of Pon- 
ziglione worthy to be inscribed forever upon the 
pages of Kansas history. 

"What is excellent, as God lives is permanent.'* 



CHAPTER VI. 

ORIGIN OF THE OSAGE CATHOLIC MISSION. 

Published in The Osage Mission Journal, July 
I, 1869: 

Osage Mission, Neosho Co., Kansas, 
June loth, 1869. 
Publisher of the Osage Mission Journal: 

In reply to your kind favor of the 7th inst., I 
have to say that the occupations imposed upon me 
by my ministry do not allow me time to become 
your correspondent. However, I am willing for 
this time to comply with your request, and shall 
forward you what few facts I know concerning 
both the origin of this Catholic Mission, and the 
establishment of the Osages in this county. So 
likewise I shall give you my opinion about their 
moral improvement, especially so far as it has 
reference to this Osage Catholic Mission, of 
which I am a member since 185 1. 

If you think the publication of these might be 
interesting to your readers, use such as you deem 
proper. 

Yours respectfully. 

Paul M. Poxziglione, S. J. 

It is a difficult thing to '-;tate when the Osages 
for the first tim.e pitched their camps on the beau- 
tiful banks of the Xeosho. However, we can 
record some few facts ¥/hich might one day prove 
interesting in forming a history of the early set- 
tlement of this part of the Neosho Valley, now 
known as Neosho county. 
(93) 



94 LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

A MISSIOX-ARY DESIRED. 

In 1820, the Osages being in the vicinity of 
St Louis, sent a delegation of their leading 
men headed by one of the chief? of the nation, 
to Rt. Rev. Dubourg, Roman Catholic Bishop 
of Xew Orleans, then visiting the State of Miss- 
ouri, which formed at that time the northern part 
of his Diocese. The object of this delegation was 
to obtain some Catholic ^lissionar}' to visit their 
towns and teach them the ways of God. 

The Bishop was very much pleased with this 
delegation and promised that as soon as prac- 
ticable he would send them a missionar}*. Rev. 
Charles La Croix was. after a few days, appoint- 
ed to that mission. He visited the Osages re- 
peatedly, baptised a good many of their children, 
and was going to build a chapel among them, 
when, exhausted by his labors, he was taken 
away by death 

MANUAL LABOR SCHOOL ESTABLISHED. 

Rev. Charles La Croix wa- succeeded in his 
mission to the Osages by Rev. Father Chas. Van 
Quickenbome who not only visited the Osages 
in their towns, but used all his energ\' in provid- 
ing for the education of their youth. For this 
reason, in Tune. 1824, he established the first 
Manual Labor School that ever existed among 
them. He collected the boys in the residence of 
St. Stanislaus, not far from the town of Floris- 
sant, in St. Louis coimty, and placed the girls in 
the convent of the Sacred Heart, in the town of 
St. Charles, St. Charles county. The two places 
not being very far the one from the other, he 
could without much trouble, provide for the wel- 
fare and instruction of both. The work of edu- 



LIFE AND LKTTERS Of FATHER PAUL. 95 

cation was now proceeding prosperously, and 
promising a good deal, when the Osages, having 
made a new treaty with the United States Gov- 
ernment, obliged themselves to vacate the State 
of Missouri, and withdrew into Kansas, then 
generally known under the name of Western 
Indian Territor>^ 

This new arrangement frustrated the plan of 
Father Charles \'an Quickenborne ; and the school 
so prosperously commenced came to a premature 
end. 

A PRESBVTERLAX MISSION. 

The Osages having removed to this new terri- 
tory, a school was provided for them bv a Board 
of Presbyterians. This school was located near 
the Western line of the State of Missouri, on the 
left bank of the Marais des Cygnes, some three 
miles north of Papinsville, in Bates county. Miss- 
ouri. 

Tho Father Charles XanOuickenbome had now 
no school among the Osages, he yet continued to 
take care of them.. He visited them regularly 
at their new Mission, which was called Harmony 
Mission, and baptised several of their children 
in the Mission House, where the Presbyterian 
ministry most kindly and liberally allowed him a 
room to use as a chapel. 

OSAGES SETTLE IX NEOSHO COUNTY. 

In 1827, Father \'an Quickenborne from Har- 
mony Mission, came to visit the Osages on Neo- 
sho river, in this ver>' count\-. where they had 
just begun ^o form permanent settlements. These, 
however, were not confined to this county, but 
v^ere in two great divisions — one w-e might call 



96 lh'e: and lkttkrs of father paul. 

of the Neosho, the other of the Verdigris, each 
containing from six to nine Indian towns, each 
having its respective Chief. But as the head 
Chief of the whole Osage Nation resided on the 
Neosho and had his house buih on what is now 
called Auguste creek, and his people were form- 
ing their towns sometimes on the west, and at 
others on the east side of the Neosho on the 
very identical spot where nor rises our beauti- 
ful town, so this place was considered from the 
earlier days of its existence as the place of busi- 
ness. 

The Indian towns of the first division extend- 
ed from the confluence of the Labette with the 
Neosho to that of Owl Creek into the same riv- 
er. Those of the second division extended from 
the junction of Pumpkin Creek to that of Che- 
topa Creek, both with the Verdigris river. 

The half-breed settlement was mostly locate*! 
between what is now called Canville Creek and 
Flat Rock Creek. The mechanics allowed to the 
Osages under their late treaty with the United 
States, were located on Flat Rock ; and the prin- 
cipal establishment of the American Fur Com- 
pany was on Canville Creek. But as the Agency 
was located for a considerable time not far froro 
the mouth of Flat Rock, so our present town 
site was considered the most important settle- 
ment on the Neosho. 

another PRESBYTERIAN MISSION. 

About this time the Presbyterian Board of 
Missions established another school at Saline in 
the Cherokee Nation, for the education of those 
Osages who were living on Verdigris. But this 
school, as well as the other at Harmony Mission, 
after a few vears' existence could not be con- 



LIFE AND IvlvTTlvRS OF FATHER PAUL. 9/ 

tinueci and were bo,th given up. After the break- 
ing up of those schools the same Missionaries 
tried to get up another one in this county. For 
this {purpose they erected a large house on the 
left or east bank of Four Mik Creek, about one- 
fourth mile from its junction with the Neosho. 
They lived and preachea in this building but 
some difficulty prevented tiie successful opening 
of a school at that place, and the Missionaries 
seeing that thc}^ were losing time and could do 
nothing with the Osages, gave this place up like- 
wise and abandoned the whole Osage Nation — ■ 
and so they were without any school. 

CATHOLIC MIvSSlON FSTABLISHED. 

Father Charles Van Ouickenborne having died 
in 1828, the spiritual care of the Osages was 
transferred to the Fathers of St Mary's Mission 
among the Pol tawatomie Indians, then located 
on the Big Sugar Creek ir- Linn county where 
now rises the town of Paris. These Fathers 
visited the Osages as regular as they could from 
1829 to 1847; when the Osages having reques'ei 
Rt. Rev. Peter R. Kendrick, Bishop of St. Louis, 
for a Catholic school. Rev. Father John Schoen- 
makers was appointed as' superior of this Mission, 
and reached this place on the 29th dav of April, 
1847- 

MANUAL LABOR SCHOOL. 

Father Schoenmakers took possession of the 
two buildings, yet unfinished, which had just 
been put up for the use of this new Mission by 
order of the Indian Department. Meanwhile, 
while Father S. was having these buildings com- 
pleted, his companion. Father Joha Bax, went 



98 LIFE AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 

about visiting among the Osages, speaking to 
them with great zeal on the importance of be- 
coming civilized and embracing Christianity. 
They were pleased with him and having offered 
him several of their children that he might give 
them a Christian education, he promised he 
would return after them soon. On the loth day 
of May, the houses being finished, he collected 
a small number of Osage children and brought 
them in — and so began on that day the Osage 
Manual Labor School, on the very spot on which 
it now stands. 

Of the two buildings, one was used for the 
Indian boys, the other was kept for a female 
department. 

CONVENT ESTABLISHED. 

On .the 5th day of October, 1847, several Sis- 
ters of Loretto having come from the State of 
Kentucky to devote themselves to the education 
of Indian girls, the present Convent was opened 
and has been flourishing to this day. 

ENLARGEMENT — AND CHURCH BUILT. 

In a short time these two houses became too 
small to accommodate the pupils who were 
brought in, and it became necessary to enlarge 
the buildings, and next to multiply them. 

So Father Schoenmakers went to work and 
first building a nice church, he by degrees added 
other houses which gave this institution the ap- 
pearance of quite a town. 

The church was dedicated to God in honor of 
St, Francis of Jerome, and was soon looked upon 
as the terminus of a Holy Pilgrimage which most 
of the Catholics living in a circuit of 50 to 80 



UFe; and letters of EATHER PAUL. 99 

miles, would once a year perform to comply with 
their Christian duties. 

The Fathers, who with Father John Schoen- 
makers, attended this Mission, visited the ad- 
jacent tribes of such as the New York Indians, 
Miamis, Peorias, Sacs and Foxes, Quapaws, 
and others residing south of the old Santa Fe 
road, and established among them as well as 
among the white Catholic settlers scattered here 
and there, over a wide extent of country some 
200 miles in diameter, several Missionary sta- 
tions which they visited from time to time. But 
this Osage Mission was always considered as the 
Mother House, from which all other Stations 
were supplied. The church in which I have this 
day officiated is the same one first built, and 
which with its additions forms now a building 
30x93 feet in size, and yet is by no means suf- 
ficient to seat the number who attend Divine 
service therein. 

INDIAN AGENCY REMOVED. 

A few years after Father John Schoenmakers 
had established this Mission, the Osage Agency 
was moved from here to the Quapaw Nation, 
some four miles from the south-east corner of 
this state, on a small brook called Lost Creek. 
This, however, did not seem to detract from tbe 
value of our property or place, as the United 
States Accents would come every year to visit us. 
Sometimes to call the Osages in Council, then to 
examine our Indian children, and would general- 
ly make rich presents of flour, beef, etc., to the 
Indians, — more particularly when payments of 
their annuities were being made. 



loo life: and LETTISRS OF FATHER PAUL. 
ANNUITY PAYMENTS AND FEASTING. 

Every year the time of paying annuities was 
a time of great merriment with our Indians. The 
Nation would on such an occasion come here and 
build their camps around us; and nearly every 
season some other tribe would come to pay a 
visit to the Osages. Sometimes you would see 
the Sacs and Foxes, sometimes the Kaws or 
Otoes, at another the Kiowas and Commanches. 
The object of these visits was ,to renew their old 
friendship, which they did by smoking the Calu- 
met, playing war dances, antd running horse 
races, to the great amusement of their white 
visitors, who used to be present in large num- 
bers. 

The time of payment was likewise a time of 
rendezvous for traders and travelers of every 
xlescription, all would come to the Mission which 
really was an Oasis in the desert, for no settle- 
ment then existed nearer than Fort Scott. 40 
miles away; and all who came stopped with us, 
either to rest their teams, to repair their wagons, 
or to supply themselves with provisions. So it 
is that this Osage Mission can in truth be called 
the cradle of civilization in the Neosho Valley. 



Vk.". '" 



THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY. 



In former days the American Fur Company in 
bringing up their goods from Fort Smith on the 
Arkansas River to the Osages, began a main 
v^outhern "Route of which this Mission was the 
terminus; for at that time the Osage Indian 
trade did not extend farther north, but having 
come here from the far west, went down the 
Neosho to Fort Gibson and Forth Smith in 
pirogues and flat boats which the half-breeds con- 



hl^n AND IvETT^RS OF FATHER PAUL. lOI 

structed in the timber on the banks. By degrees 
the trade of the Fur Company having extended 
north of this place another main route was open- 
ed to the Missouri River, striking it at Kansas 
City and near Leavenworth. The pioneer settle- 
ments were nearly all established along these 
routes, after a while small towns sprang up, and 
now beautiful cities occupy the ground where 
one day poor but adventurous trappers cooked 
their scanty meal, and took their slumber always 
uneasy in fear of losing their scalps. 

BENEFIT AND RESULTS OF MISSION SCHOOL. 

Whether the labors and expenses undertaken 
by this Mission for the civilization of the Osages 
have really been in the past, and will in the fu- 
ture prove beneficial to them, we do not now 
enter to discuss. 

We know this much from the persual of an- 
cient history, that to bring aborigines from their 
state of barbarism to a degree of civilization, and 
next make of them good Christians, has never 
been the work of a few years only, but of cen- 
turies. However, we dare to say that the Mission 
established by the Catholic Church among the 
Osages in 1820 and continued to this day, has 
been of great benefit to humanity at large, for it 
has kept them from ravaging the neighboring 
settlements, gave them an idea, at least of hon- 
esty and righteousness, inspired in them respect 
for religion, and inculcated upon their youth 
the importance of Christianity. 

If during a period of now 49 years the Osages 
as a Nation did not take up arms against the 
United States Government, if they did not make 
a wholesale slaughter of trains and caravans 
while crossing the plains, if they did not ran- 



102 Ivll^l^ AND LKTTKRS OF FATHER PAUL. 

sack the country along the borders of both Miss- 
ouri and Kansas; if in a word, they did not turn 
hostile to the white people, this is due in great 
part to the influence the Catholic Church exert- 
ed over them thru her Missionaries. 

OSAGE SCHOLARS. 

The school of this Osage MHssion has gen- 
erally been a success, even during the late war, 
which proved detrimental to so many institutions 
of this kind. 

The number of pupils in attendance has al- 
ways been large — the number of such one year 
being as high as 236. Great many are those who 
at sundry times have visited this school and ex- 
amined the pupils at their pleasure: and all found 
to their satisfaction that the children of the 
Osages are capable of acquiring an education as 
well as any other children, and become as good 
scholars as white children. To be convinced of 
the truth of this assertion, it is sufficient to open 
the Annua! Report given by the United States 
Agents to the Indian Department concerning th«s 
Osage Mission Manual Labor School. 

And tho in candor, we are bound to acknowl- 
edge that a large number of pupils who have 
been reared at this Osage School after having 
left this school and returned to the Indian towns, 
have resumed the Indian customs, and in some 
instances become very bad. yet we cannot deny 
that a goodly number have succeeded very well, 
become industrious, and earn their bread hon- 
estly. ^^ 

OSAGES AGAIN REMOVE. 

By the Treaty of September 29th. t<%5, the 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. IO3 

Osages having ceded this part of their country 
to the United States Government, again remov- 
ed to the Verdigris river, leaving a good many 
of their children at the Osage Mission School, 
where they yet are. 

A TOWN STARTED. 

No sooner did the white people come in this 
part of the country than they seemed to like the 
location of this place better than any other, and 
began to talk of building a town. Father John 
Schoenmakers, seeing their desire donated for 
this purpose a quarter section of land to a Town 
Company. They laid out the town and went to 
work without delay, and have been very success- 
ful, for tho great has been the opposition made 
to Osage Mission yet it has flourished greatly, 
and in this day is one of the best towns of South- 
ern Kansas. 

PIONEER OF 1851 RELATES EXPERIENCES. 

St. Ignatius College. Chicago, Ill- 
July 21, 1895. 
Neosho County Journal: 

In reply to your kind circular of the 6th inst., 
I must say that since the time I came to Osage 
Mission, now St. Paul, in 1851. your country 
has gone thru a wonderful change, and this for 
the better. In 1851 Kansas was a regular des- 
ert, not a single white man's house could be found 
between Ft. Scott and Denver, Colorado. Father 
John Schoenmakers' oFd Mission house, few 
half-breed's cabins, and here and there some di- 
lapidated Trading Posts, were the only marks of 
an incipient civilization. The Neosho River was 
looked upon as the "Ultima Thule." and those 



104 IvlFK AND LETTF.RS OF FATHER PAUL. 

who would dare to go as far as the Verdigris 
would never engage in such a voyage without a 
good escort. To venture farther west, would 
have been considered a foolish temerity. The 
very name of the Osages was a terror all over 
the land, and not without a reason, for strag- 
gling warriors would frequently commit heavy 
depredations on caravans bound for the Pacific 
coast, and the generally poor settlers living on 
the borders of the state of Missouri, were always 
in dread of the Osages. Whether really the 
Osage Nation was responsible for such continued 
Indian raids, I cannot tell, all I can say about it 
is that more than once good Father Schoenmak- 
ers, having found out that parties were being 
organized to go to Missouri to rob and massacre 
the settlers, would send for the leaders and by 
sound reasoning would try to make them change 
their minds. As soon as the Father would per- 
ceive his words were ]:)roducing some good im»- 
pressions on their wild nature, he would sympa- 
thize with them, acknowledging that really they 
had been badh' used by the white men, but he 
would sa3^ this does not give you right to re- 
venge yourselves on helpless settlers. At last he 
would conclude by saying, now my friends, be 
good boys and let those settlers alone ; come on 
with me, and going to the field he would give 
them a calf or a cow to eat and feast on during 
the night and this always proved to be the best 
argument, for once they had their belly filled up 
and had slept a good night over it, they would 
give up their murderous plans and return io 
their villages. By such acts of genuine Christian 
charity, the Father succeeded in saving the lives 
of many innocent people and this was altogeth- 
er the principal good that our Mission was do- 
ing in those prehistoric times. To what concern- 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. IO5 

ed ourselves in particular, considering that we 
were quite isolated among the Indians, having 
no army to defend ourselves and being 40 miles 
distant from the nearest white man's settlement, 
some might think that our condition, especially 
that of the Sisters of Loretto, who had charge 
of the Osage girls, must have been a terrible 
one, nay rather critical, but it was not so, for 
as the Indians got acquainted with our way of 
living, they became very familiar with us, but 
in regard to the convent, they always did show 
a great respect for it and in their dealing with 
the Sisters, they were remarkable for their re- 
serve, and if at any time there would happen to 
be any reason to fear that some incursion might 
be made against us by wild Indians from the 
plains, the Osages would watch the convent by 
day and by night, and the Sisters were never 
exposed to any danger. In fact, no accident of 
any kind ever interfered with them. The fol- 
lowing event, tho not of much importance, will 
show with what solicitude those wild Indians 
were watching for the safety of the Sisters. 

Some time in the summer of 1853 several In- 
dians of the Little Osage town, located where 
stands the city of Chanute, had come with their 
Chief, Strike- Ax, to pay us a visit, when just 
at noon, a horse-hunter of theirs comes in a 
great hurry, reporting that a band of Sac Indians 
had been seen on Coal Creek, but a few miles 
from town, driving away Osage ponies. At 
hearing this Strike-Ax uttered a tremendous war- 
whoop. At the sound of it all his men sprang 
on their horses and all the warriors of our In- 
dian town joined their friends and in a few 
minutes a large company was formed ready to 
start on the war path. Strike-Ax, fitly proud, 
seeing himself at the head of so many Braves, 



I06 LIFI; AND IvlvTTliRS OF FATHER PAUL. 

called Father Schoenmakers, told him not to be 
uneasy or fear the Sacs, "for," said he, "I have 
men enough to route them all out of the country." 
He next said,"please go and tell the Sisters and 
our daughters not to be troubled for we will make 
a short job of this expedition and before nighi 
we will settle the matter by taking about a 
dozen of our enemies' scalps." 

It was just about one o'clock when they all 
dashed away, as if their ponies had wings, so 
quick were they all out of sight on the large 
prairie now covered by the town of St. Paul. 
Hardly two hours had passed since their de- 
parture when we were called to witness a scene 
quite new to us. And lo to our surprise we no- 
ticed about fifty old squaws with half of their 
heads covered with mud, as they use when they 
are in mourning. They marched out of their 
wigwams in a long file, singing a wailing tune, 
each one carrying a switch in her hand. They 
passed before the convent and went to squatJ 
about two hundred yards from our premises and 
turning themselves toward the side from which 
the Sacs might come they began ,to beat the 
ground with their switches, accompanying every 
stroke with invectives against their enemy, call- 
ing on the Great Spirit to protect the convent 
and be hard on the Sacs. Our children, who at 
the appearance of the squaws, had all come out 
of their rooms to look at them and were having 
a good time laughing and gesticulating. When 
we asked them why those women were beating 
the ground they replied they were fighting the 
Sacs. The poor creatures kept on with their 
ceremony for half an hour, till their switches 
Mere broken to fragments and they themselves 
were so exhausted that they had to go home to 
rest. 



UFE AND LKTTliRS OF FATHER PAUL. IO7 

By this time Stnke-Ax and his warriors had 
got in sight of the Sacs, who well knowing how 
quick the Osages are in taking up a scalp, far 
from showing fighting, abandoned at once the 
Osage ponies they were driving and ran for their 
life, the Osages pursuing them till they saw them 
way off out of reach. Now that the expedition 
was over, Strike-Ax called on one of his sons, 
by the name of Alexander, who had been at our 
school for a while and could talk very good 
English, bade him hurry to our Mission and in- 
form Father Schoenmakers of the good result 
they had and hovv they had recovered all their 
ponies and put their enemies to flight. Next he 
told him to be sure and go to the convent and 
tell the Sisters and the girls not to be uneasy or 
have any fear for there was not a Sac Indian 
left in the country. This is certainly an act of 
gallantry that we would never have expected 
from the Osages had we had to judge them from 
their wild appearance. Of such events I could 
write a book if 1 had nothing else to do. 

In those days, which I can truly say were the 
goldei et^a of Osage Mission, we seldom saw 
any white men. except in caravans passing by, on 
their way west, and oh ! hov/ happy were these 
in finding our place, after having traveled for 
days and days thru the forlorn prairies of Kan- 
sas, always in dread of being attacked by Indians. 

Since Kansas has been opened for settlement, 
we moved with the people and with them went 
thru all the ups and downs to which the country 
was subiec^t, especially during the war. We saw 
Kansas in all its phases, such as Droughty Kan- 
sas,- Grasshopper and Chinch-Bug Kansas, wc 
saw Bleeding Kansas and happily passed thru, 
the days of Gen. Tim Lane. John Brown, Price 
and Marmaduke, and after all our experience, 



I08 LlFi: AND LE:TTERS of father PAUL. 

I think I can pronounce my verdict namely, that, 
Kansas after all, is as good a country to live in, 
as any other in the U. S. of America. 
Respectfully, 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

KANSAS CHURCH HISTORY. 

Osage Mission, Kas. 
June 8, 1876. 

C. H. Howard, Sir: As I know you wish to 
be correct in all your statements, especially in 
regard to dates, so I take the liberty to make 
some rem.arks about an article in your issue of 
June 7th, 1876, under the head of "Kansas 
Church History.*" li such article is intended to 
speak of ,the Kansas Protestant Church Histoxy 
exclusively, then I have nothing to say on the 
subject, but if it concerns Kansas Church His- 
tory in general, then I beg leave to be allowed to 
state, that from the records of our church kept 
at this institution, it appears that Rev. Father 
Charles V^an Quickenborne, S. J., in his capacity 
of a Roman Catholic ^Missionary, as early as 
1827 visited the Osages, then having a large 
settlement on what we now call "Four Mile 
Creek."' about one mile from its confluence with 
the Neosho River. 

Father Charles \'an Quickenborne was the first 
who suggested to the U. S. Government the idea 
of educating the Osage youth. The Government 
having approved his plan, he himself, opened 
the first school for the Osages in our house at 
Florissant. St. Louis county, Missouri, in 1824. 
Not long after that time the Osages left the 
State of Missouri and came to locate on the 
Neosho River, in Kansas, tho now they were a 
great distance from St. Louis, still Father Charles 




z - 



UF^ AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. IO9 

Van Quickenborne kept coming to visit them to 
give them an opportunity of complying with their 
religious duties. According to our records, in 
August, 1827, he baptised 17 Osages in the set- 
tlement of Four Mile Creek. 
Respectfully, 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

ST. PATRICK'S CELEBRATION. 

From the Journal, March 15, 1876: 

PROGRAMME. 

Next Friday, the feast of S,t. Patrick's, there 
will be High Mass at St. Francis' church. Mass 
being over, the congregation will march in pro- 
cession thru the Sodality garden. After the 
procession, a dinner will be served in St. Fran- 
cis' Hall- by the ladies of the congregation. En- 
trance fee will be 50 cents for each person. In 
the evening at 7 o'clock, a drama will be given 
by the students of St. Francis' Institution, ac- 
companied by select music from the young la- 
dies of St. Ann's Academy. Admittance fee 
25 cents each person. The drama will be given 
in St. Francis' Hall. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

OSAGE INDIAN QUESTION. 

From the Journal, August ii, 1875: 

St. Francis' Institution. Osage Mission, Kas. 

August 10, 1875. 
C. H. Howard, Sir : As you are anxious to 
know something positive concerning the where- 
abouts of Rev. Father John Schoenmakers, who 
one month since went to visit the Osages in the 
Indian Territory; I will tell you that he is en- 
joying good health. He was on his wav home 



IIO LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

when on the 3rd inst., having met Generals 
Ewing and Blair on the Big Cana, he accom- 
panied them to the Osage Agency . , . t„ 
^Generals Ewing and Blair did not/"tend to 
visit the Agency, as their object was ,to go thru 
lorne few Osage settlements, and hear what 
complaints they had against their pr«ent agent 
Isaac T Gibson. But when they came on Big 
Cana they found that the Osages living m that 
sec"ion of their country, were in a state of great 
fxdZent, and --ted *at both Generals and 
Father Schoenmakers should go to the Agency 
and see with their own eyes, the unanimous dis- 
like of the Indians against their agent isaac I. 
Gibson, and at the same time they could see the r 
unanimous love and preference for a Catholic 

^^The investigating committee had iTOt got in 
at that time, but was da.ly expected The Osag_ 
es are in a very bad humor, and tell many hard 
things about their agent, Isaac T. Gibson, but 
I am coni^dent that Father Schoenmakers in- 
fluence will keep them from all hostile depre- 
dations. They have been wronged ih their 
conscience by this agent, who for over Ave years 
has tried all in his power to make them abandon 
the Roman Catholic church, wh,ch they love and 
esteem: and has tried to make them join the 
Quaker Institution, which they despise; more- 
over, this agent has also wronged them financial- 
ly for during diese last five years he has gen- 
erally squandered their money m useless ex- 
penses—profitable onlv to his personal friends 
-who indeed, are receiving big salaries, and 
meanwh.ile the poor Osages are suffenng—ui 
many instances being left without bread or sliel- 

^U is difficult to say what will be the result of 



UFE AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. Ill 

the investigating committee, but in my opinion- 
even m case it would fail in doing justice to the 
Osages— some good will come of it, namely: 
It will expose to the sight of all, well authenti- 
cated facts of robbery and oppression, and im- 
partial history will show to the whole Christian 
world how poor helpless. Indians— the former 
owners of this beautiful county— were cheat- 
ed by those who, claiming to have come to them 
as teachers of Christianity, did nothing else but 
enrich themselves at their expense. 
Respectfully, 

Paul M. Ponzigltone, S. J. 
SOME REMINISCENCES. 

St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 111. 

\M MiT r- r^ August 28, 1899. 

W. W. Graves, Dear Sir: Your weekly is 
always a welcome visitor on our premises, and its 
number of the loth inst., recalled to my mind 
sweet .occurrences bf 1851, as well as the few 
years that preceded the civil war. History will 
forever show how the war did put an end to the 
Old patnarchial government prevailing to that 
time among the full blood Osages, and began 
a new era in their life bv opening up their res- 
ervation to the white settlers. 

In those days, which I might as well call pre- 
adamitic, the Osages were having their golden 
age. And why not? Their poor wigwams scat^ 
tered here and there around the Mission Ice- 
houses, were forming the largest settlement in 
southern Kansas. The brilliant cities of Em- 
poria, Burlington. Ft. Scott, Chanute, Erie Par- 
sons, Oswego and Chetopa were not as yet even 

tlT^rt^}'''^^- ^^-" ^'^-^ ^^tion, under the 
great Chief, George White Hair, and the Mission 



112 LIFE AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 

schools, under the management of Father John 
Schoenmakers, were the only pomts then consid- 
ered of any importance by the Indian Depart- 
ment whose commissioners frequently visited us. 
The O sages, who then numbered a little over 
2,000, were a power in the west, and were at 
peace with the whole world. Tho they .-were 
neither farming nor working under any contract 
system ; tho you could not meet in their country 
with prospectors either after gold or lead, or coal 
or gas ; tho no railroad cars freighted with hun- 
dreds of people were as yet crossing what m 
those days by many was thought to be the Ameri- 
can Desert, the Osages were nevertheless abund- 
antly provided with whatever they needed by 
St. Louis merchants, who in their turn were re- 
paid iwith large percentage they were making on 
the exclusive trade they had on furs and peltry 
procured to them by the Osage hunters. And 
no wonder if they took life very easy for the 60 
or 70 thousand buffalos they every year were 
killing besides an extra amount of smaller game 
such as bears, deer, antelope, and like, they were 
getting on the interminable plains extending from 
the western line of Missouri to the eastern line 
of Colorado, supplied them with plenty of food 
and a rich amount of buffalo robes as well as 
smaller peltry for trade. The few log houses of 
the IMission were looked upon as great palaces, 
and the wells, one east and the other west of 
the old church, were furnishing an inexhaustable 
treasure of fresh water to a couple of Indian 
villages, forming as it were the suburbs of the 
Mission. 

The annuity payment was the only time of 
some excitement we used to have every year. 
On such an occasion thousands of dollars, hun- 
dreds of head of cattle, dry goods by the car 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. II3 

load were distributed among tiie Osages by the 
U. S. agent. During that time numbers of 
strangers would come to smoke the Calumet with 
our Indians. Of the neighboring nations the 
Kansas were always most friendly to the Osages ; 
but some of their young Bucks were mischievous 
and on returning to their reservation would have 
no scruples of driving away with theirs, also a 
few of the Osage ponies, a thing which of course 
after a while would cause no little trouble be- 
tween the two nations. A remarkable instance 
of this kind, which took place in those early days, 
will show how acute an Indian can be when he 
])uts up his mind to steal a nice horse : 

An old Osage Indian, known all thru the res- 
ervation by the name of Basil, had a very beauti- 
ful young mare, the only riding nag in his pos- 
session. The very day the annuity payment of 
1852 was over a band of Kansas bovs notified 
their^friends that they would leave that night for 
their home. As the road they had to travel pas- 
sed not far from Basil's settlement, a friend of 
the old man came to let him know about it that 
he might be on the lookout. Thankful for the 
warning received, Basil simply remarked tha-t 
he knevv' how the Kansas boys were very quick 
at picking up ponies but this time he would make 
them find out that it was no easy job to drive 
away hi? filly. Evening coming, he hitched the 
beast to a sapling close by his wigwam. Next 
he hangs a bell at her neck, sure that if any of 
the Kavv- boys would come by in the night the 
animal, alarmed at the sight of the stranger, 
^^'0uld try to evade the aggressor ; the result would 
be, that in the excitement which was bound to 
arrive, the bell would ring again and again, and 
hearing it he would at once come out to protect 
his property. The old man's calculations were 



114 LIFK AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

very good but he never suspected that the young 
Buck would be so smart as he proved himself to 
be. The Kaw boy seeing from a distance that 
the filly was hitched close to Basil's wigwam, 
leaves his riding nag far off on the prairie and 
advances very slowly, as if he had been one of 
the neighbors, comes close to the beasit. After 
caressing her for a while takes the bell from her 
neck, hangs it to a slender limb of the same 
sapling at which the mare was hitched, and at 
once springing on her back, off he goes with her. 
As the night was stormy and the wind was shak- 
ing the sapling at times rather violently, it fol- 
lowed that the bell now and then would ring for 
a few minutes. Hearing the alarm, Basil would 
raise his head and listen carefully, but as the 
ringing would soon stop he would say to him- 
self, "All is right with the filly. I see the flies 
are hard on her," and turning himself on the 
other side would resume his sleep till morning. 
You can easily imagine what his surprise was 
when on coming out of his wigwam the next 
morning to see his filly, he saw indeed the beli 
was there but the filly was gone. 

Such and like anecdotes were things of almost 
daily occurence in those olden times. As there 
were neither police nor lawyers, courts nor jails, 
the whole matter was brought before Father 
Schoenmakers who, after listening to both par- 
ties and having given a good lecture to ,the boys 
in general and especially on the evil practice in 
which they were indulging, would oblige the 
guilty parties to restore the stolen property to 
its owner. With this all questions were settled. 
Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

4t * 

The new Catholic church of Osage Mission will 
be solemnly blessed by Rt. Rev. John J. Hogan, 



life: and le;tteRvS of Father paul. 115 

Bishop of Kansas City, Mo., on the nth day of 
May next. The ceremony will begin at 7:30 a. 
m. The blessing will be followed by High Mass 
and sermon. In the afternoon Vespers will take 
place at the usual time, and at 7:30 p. m., a 
lecture will be given by Rr. Rev. Bishop J. J. 
Hogan. Admittance and seats will be free. The 
collection of the day as well as of the evening 
will be applied to the paying of the debts of the 
new church. 

The newspapers printed in towns within a 
radius of forty miles from Osage Mission are 
kindly asked to publish .this notice. 

Paul M. Ponztgltone, S. J. 

Pastor. 
Journal, April 23. 1884. 

Marquette College, Milwaukee, 
August II, 1889- 
Jolin R. Brunt, Esq., Dear Sir: Yesterday I 
received your Journal and I am very thankful to 
you for your kindness. My new home is a nice 
one but Oh, the cottage Good Father Schoenmak- 
ers had built! When I saw that land-mark fall- 
ing down I felt that some bad luck was in store 
for me, but I am only joking, Mr. Brunt, the 
fact is that T am well and happy. However. I 
must confess that my body is here, yet ever and 
anon my spirit is hovering on the banks of Flat 
Rock calling on the name of my dear old friends, 
but alas! Many of them are sleeping and never 
will answer my call. Please remember me to my 
friends. 

Paul M. Ponztgltone. S. T. 

St. Francis' Institution festival for the finish- 
ing of the new church, will be held on the i8th, 
19th and 20th of October, 1883. The rooms will 



Il6 U?E AND LETTERS OE FATHER PAUL. 

be Open from 2 p. m. ,to 9 p. m. Supper at 25 

cents for each person will be served by the ladies 

of the congregation. Fancy articles will be sold. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

* * 

The blessing of Father John Schoenmakers' 
memorial bell will take place on Saturday, the 
8th of December next. The ceremony will be- 
gin at 2 130 p. m. in front of the new church. x\s 
the ceremony will be very interesting and new 
to many, all are invited to come and assist in it. 
Parsons, Oswego, Girard and Walnut papers are 
requested to copy .this notice. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 
Neosho County Journal, November 21, 1883. 

LETTERS TO MISS BERRY. 

In the early Sixties the D. D. Berry family 
resided at LeRoy, Kansas, and Father Paul, on 
his trips up that way, always made it a point to 
stop at the Berry home. It is not therefore sur- 
prising that a warm friendship should spring up 
between him and the Berry family. The Berrv 
family later moved to Osage Mission and lo- 
cated not far from the church, where some of 
the surviving members still reside. After leav- 
ing the "Mission" Father Paul did not forget 
these friends and kept up a correspondence wi^fch 
members of this family as lon^r a> he livctl. Part 
of his letters were preserved ^nd were kindly 
loaned to the writer for use in this booK. The 
letters were addressed to Miss Susie Berry and 
with the exception of some purely personal mat- 
ters, were as follows : 

Marquette College, Milwaukee, Wis.. 
September 5, 1889. 

Dear Frieml : Yours of the 2nd inst. with its 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PA'JL. II/ 

contents came to hand. I will offer one Mass ac- 
cording to your intention on the 8th inst. I can 
find no better day for it than that of the Nativity 
of the Mother of God. 

From the persual of the Osage Mission Jour- 
7ial, I saw that your father was very sick, and I 
felt very happy when on the next Journal I found 
that he was getting better. May God preserve 
him to you for many years to come. I am glad 
to see that your mother is all right. 

Please remember me to all my friends. May 
God bless you all. Respectfully, 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 



Marquette College. Milwaukee, Wis., 
December 15, 1889. 

Dear Friend : Yours of the 9th inst. has come 
in due time. * >!- * j a.m afraid your sister 
Lizzie studies too much. Tell her to take care 
of her health, for as long as she will be well she 
will be able to do something, but if she gets sick, 
what will she do then? 

You say you have very pleasant weather, and 
so we also can say, for so far we have no winter. 
People are pleased but they fear they will have 
to pay for it next spring. 

Milwaukee is a magnificent city, growing every 
day in wealth and beauty. Our Catholic popula- 
tion is getting larger every day. The Catholics 
number something over 60 thousand, and we 
have twenty-five- churches in the city. The 
parochial school children number over 4,000. 

I am well pleased with the good news yon 
give me about little Charlie (Shields). I do not 
doubt that his brother is also doing well. When 
you will write to them, send them the two small 
pictures you will find enclosed, and tell them to 



Il8 LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

study hard and behave nicely. Do not forget to 
remember me to their mother and father. 

I wish you would give my love to as many as 
ask you my news. Tell them that I have them 
always present in my mind, and I daily pray 
God to bless them, and this I shall more par- 
ticularly do during the coming holy days of 
Christmas. 

1 hope your father and mother are both en- 
joying good health. Tell .them I wish them a 
happy Christmas and a happy New Year, and 
this is my prayer to God for them that they may 
be granted to see and enjoy with you all, many 
such holy days. 

Please pray also for me, and you may be sure 
that I will do the same for you. 

Respectfully, 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

Marquette College, Milwaukee, 
January i, 1890. 
Miss Susie Berry P. X. 

Happy New Year! Your package came all 
right. I thank you very much. Your present is 
very acceptable. 

We continue to have a very nice weather. 
What little snow we had some weeks ago did 
not remain with us over 24 hours. The lake 
h open to navigation as usual. Everyone is 
wondering at svich a winter, which is no winter 
at all. 

We had a lovely Christmas in all the 2% 
Catholic churches of this town. There \vere 
Christmas trees everywhere. Children never 
felt so happy. I suppose Father Masterson had 
a big Christmas tree in ,the hall, but I am sure 
Mbther Bridget had the best. Here all is quiet, 
and as people have no troubles, so they must bor- 



LIFI^ AND LE:TTERS OF FATHI^R PAUL. 1 19 

row some. For this reason they are scaring 
themselves and look for the influenza to soon faU 
on them sure and cei tain. They move very cau- 
tiously as if this sickness would be lurking 
around them like a wild cat. Some take good 
drams of liquor more than three times a day, 
and others take medicines to prevent an attack of 
this sickness. The doctors are making a good 
job of it. 

Remember me to all my many friends, and tell 
them I have them all present in my mind when 
I am at the altar. Respectfully, 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 
September 22, 1892. 
Dear Friend: I am very thankful for your 
last of the i8th inst. in which I found so many 
news. I feel happy that Father Bononcini is 
yet among the living. You give me good news 
about the Sisters of Loretto. May God prosper 
them and increase their community. -^ ^ ^ -^ 
Father Masterson is all right and stays at an- 
other house We have in this great city. We have 
at this college a very large attendance of stu- 
dents this year. The majority follow the classi- 
cal course. Now give my love to your parents 
and good sisters, and tell all my old friends that 
I am always the same Father Paul, never for- 
getting how good and kind they used to be to 
me. Tell them I will always remember them in 
my prayers and I wish they do the same for me. 
May God bl-ess all my dear friends. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 

December 7, 1892. 

Dear Friend : 1 am sorry that your church has 



120 LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

been rifled of her sacred vessels." I'uor Father 
Bononcini ; he must have felt very bad when he 
discovered what sacrilege had been committed! 
Unfortunately the country is teeming with rob- 
bers. This large city is no exception. So far 
we ourselves have not been molested. You are 
asking me about Father Condon. He is here 
with us and doing well. He is directing a young 
Ladies Sodality in our parish. They number 
700 and are just now making a spiritual retreat 
of eight days. I had a visit from Mr. Higgins 
and for awhile I felt as if I would be back with 
you all. 

Give a happy Christmas for me to your father, 
mother, sisters and all my old friends and as- 
sure them that T never forget them. May God 
bless you. 

Paul M. Ponztglione, S. J. 

St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 
June 30. 1893. 

Dear Friend : Few days ago I had the pleas- 
ure of seeing young Mr. Ferrick. He gave me a 
bushel full of Osa^e Mission news. I felt quite 
at home with him and thought for a while on 
the good old times. 

Now what is the matter with poor 4Catie 
Doud? I am very sorry to hear that she is suf- 
fering. Please go and see her for me. Tell her 
to have ]:)atience and resign to God's will, for 
resignation to God's will is the best remedy for 
all evils. 

Our city is in full holiday attire and people 
from most all parts of the world. Turks and 
Arabs, Africans and Chinese, Tartars and Nor- 
wegians, etc., can be seen walking thru our 
streets in their superb costumes. The Columbian 
exposition is going to be a success. I heard from 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 121 

my friend Ferrick that a number oi Osage Mis- 
sion boys are calculating to come to visit the ex- 
position this fall. O how happy will I not be to 
see them! 

Please remember me to Rev. Fr. Bononcini, to 
the good Sisters of Loretto, and to my many 
friends. May God bless you. I shall never for- 
get the kindness shown me by you all, especially 
by your parents. That God may return you the 
hundred fold is the most sincere wish of my 
heart. Yours, 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

St. Ignatius College. Chicago, 
August 14, i8q5. 
Miss Susie Berry : Many thanks for your last 
favor and for the copy of the Neosho Journal. 
When I think on the old times mentioned in the 
Journal, and call to mind the many events we 
passed thru in those days, it seems to me that I 
am dreaming! When I think on the number of 
friends who were sharing with me the pleasures 
and troubles of a pioneer missionary life, I 
wonder that I, in preference of so many of my 
companions, have been spared to this day. Now 
I find myself on the decline, and I hope that God, 
who has been so merciful to me in the past, will 
continue to kindly assist me to the end. * * * 
Father Masterson is as usual. Please remember 
me to all my friends. May the Lord bless you 
all. Respectfully, 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 
September 9, 1895. 
Miss Susie Berry, P. X. : 

Bad news run fast. If I do not mistake last 
Saturday evening some one told me that St. Ann's 



122 LlFli AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 

Academy was burned to the ground. I could 
hardly believe it, and was kept in painful sus- 
pense, till to-day I got the town paper you so 
kindly sent me. I am very sorry for the loss 
the poor Sisters have, and I thank God for hav- 
ing spared the church and the old Fathers' house, 
where now the Sisters have found a shelter. It 
has been a terrible accident. But God has per- 
mitted it and we can but say "Thy will be done." 
I hope that as gold comes out of the crucible 
more shining than when it was laid in, so will 
new St. Ann's Academy come out of the 
present ruins more bright that the old was. May 
God bless you all. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 



St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 
February 20, 1896. 
Dear Friend : Thank you for your kind favor 
of the 15th inst. Here we have just now a 
severe win ter. Snow and snow again seems to 
be the order of the day. Pedestrians complain 
bitterly, but the poor people working at cleaning 
off the streets are rejoicing for it, and so goes 
the world, as it has always been, what sometimes 
is a trouble to one is good luck to another. I 
see from yours that St. Paul's town (too has its 
troubles! Well, there is no remedy. Take it 
easy and look for better days to come. * * * 
When you will go to see the Sisters please re- 
member me to them. To all the rest of my dear 
friends, tell them that I have them all present 
in my mind when I am at the altar. May God 
bless you all. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 



LIFE AND LETTERS OF FATHER PAUL. 12^ 

St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 

January 14, 1897. j 

Miss Susie Berry : Never too late to exchange I 

happy greetings, hence I do thank you for yours, | 

and in return this comes to you full of mine, I 

which I wish you divide between your father, 
mother and sisters. How much I did enjoy see- 
ing from yours that you were all well. * * -t 
I continue to be in this college, and Father M. 
Brongist, your old friend, is also here with me. 
Father Condon has some two years since gone 
to Cincinnati, and the last news I had of him 
were good. 

Times here are not very good. I hope that 
with you things will do better and that your 
father will be kept occupied at his work. I felt 
very glad seeing that your fair has been a suc- 
cess; but I am very sorry when I think that the 
Sisfters of Loretto have left you. However, I 
am sure that the IJrsilines will soon be as ac- 
ceptable to the people as the Lorettines used to 
be. Please remember me to my old friends and 
assure them all tha t I cannot forget them ; and 1 
frequently pray to God to bless them all. 

Respectfully. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

Holy Family Church, Chicago, 
' October 10, 1898. 

Miss Susie Berry: * * * I feel happy 
seeing that you keep on improving your church. 
A good organ is most certainly a great auxiliary 
to promote devotion. If I had a treasury at my 
disposal, would willingly divide with you for 
such a purpose : this, however, not being the case, 
I sent in this one dollar which was given to me 
yesterday. 

Give my best respects to the fathers of St. 



124 LI^K AND LETTl'tRS OF FATHER PAUL. 

Francis* church and remember me to your good 
parents and sisters. Tell your mother to hold 
on, and be thankful to God for all, even for her 
infirmities now so long and tell her not to for- 
get that these are every day more and more beau- 
tifying the crown God will give her in heaven. 
May God bless you all. 

Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

Holy Family Church, Chicago, 
March 17. 1898. 

Dear Friend : Yours of the 14th inst. with its 
contains, have been duly received, and made me 
feel to be, as it were, once more at home with 
you all. I thank your dear mother and father 
and sisters for the kind greetings you do send 
me on account of my jubilee. Well be sure that 
on that day, you all shall have a large and most 
fervent share in my prayers. 

I am sorry to see that you and many of our 
friends are so far disappointed in what concerns 
the return of the Sisters of Loretto. Well the 
judgments of God are unsearchable, but never 
damaging, and always directed for the better, 
tho this does not show itself at once, and may as 
yet be very slow coming. ^4|eanwhile all we 
must do is to resign. As your wishes are for a 
thing which is most holy, I still feel an inward 
presentimicnt that you will be some way or other 
satisfied. Be happy therefore and give my love 
to the whole of your family, especially to your 
father and mother. Tell mother to keep on tak- 
ing the medicine I used to prescribe her — patience 
and a big dose of 1 -.. May God bless you all. 
Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 



I 





ST. Ann's academy, main building 

ERECTED 1870, BURNED 1 895. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE OSAGES. 

A noble race! but they are gone. 
With their old prairies wide and deep, 
And we have built our homes upon 
Fields where their generations sleep. 

— Bryant. 

The Osages are mentioned by Father Mar- 
quette in his story of his trip down the Missis- 
sippi in 1673 as the "Ouchage," and by La Salle 
in 1782. In those days the Osages were one of 
the most powerful tribes west of the Mississippi 
river. They occupied about seventeen villages 
in eastern Missouri near the Missouri river. 
Father Membre, a companion of La Salle, called 
the Missouri river the Osage, doubtless because 
of the large number of Osage Indians they found 
near its junction with the Mississippi. The 
Osage Indian Herald stated in i876,that St. Louis 
and Kansas City were once Osage trading posts, 
and that the famous Choteau mansion in St. 
Louis was built by a family of French traders 
whb intermarried with the Osages, that name 
being frequently mentioned in the subsequent 
history of the tribe. 

At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century 
the Osages claimed all the country lying south of 
the Missouri and Kansas rivers, as far west as 
the head waters of the latter stream, and in their 
hunting excursions they roamed all over the vast 
territorv between the Mississippi river and the 

(125) 



126 the; osagi$s. 

Rocky mountains. Because of tribal differences, 
part of the Osages under Chief Clermont, came 
west in 1796 and settled on the Verdigris river. 
About this time there were also Osage settlements 
made in Vernon and Bates counties in Missouri. 
The first settlement on the Neosho river was 
made some time prior to 1820. In that year the 
Big Osa;ges had one settlement of 400 and the 
Little Osages three settlements or villages of 
about 1,000, on the Neosho river. 

By the treaty of June 2, 1825, the Osages gave 
up all their claims to land in Missouri and Ar- 
kansas and those members of the tribe that had 
remained near St. Louis and other eastern points 
in Missouri came west and settled near the Neo- 
sho and Verdigris rivers. Here they remained 
until they moved to their present location in 
Oklahoma nearly half a century later. 

The Osages, altho a powerful nation, were 
much more peacable than many other tribes, and 
altho they had wars with other Indian tribes, they 
caused the government little trouble. On the 
other hand the government has dealt generously 
with the Osages which is one of the reasons the 
Osages are so wealthy at the present time. 

A story is told that when the Osages were 
coming west after their treaty of 1825, they ar- 
rived near where the town of Walnut, Kansas, 
now stands, where there was not much water or 
timber to be found. There they stopped while 
they sent out a scouting party to select a loca- 
tion for their settlement. The scouts went 
southwestward and soon came to a long stretch 
of timber, and a clear beautiful stream. The 
chief was pleased with the report of the scouts 
and the entire band set out for the river. Those 
who arrived at the river first rode into the water 
to let their horses drink. When the chief arriv- 



THE OSAG^S. 127 

ed a few minutes later he found the river the 
opposite of "beautiful and clear," and he repri- 
manded the scouts for their misrepresentation, 
and from this incident the river was given the 
name "Neosho," which means "water made mud- 

Washington Irving, in his "Tour of the Prair- 
ies," describes the Osages as "Stately fellows, 
stern and simple in garb and aspect. They wore 
no ornaments ; their dress consisted of blankets, 
leggins and moccasins; their heads were bare; 
their hair was cropped close except a bristling 
ridge on the top like the crest of a helmet, with 
a long scalp lock hanging behind. They had fine 
Roman countenances and broad, deep chests. The 
Osages are the finest looking Indians I have 
seen in the west." 

The moral state of the Osages is not much 
mentioned by the early writers, but Rev. Benson 
Prixley, who established a Presbyterian mission 
at a point he called "Neosho," in 1827, wrote an 
article for the Herald, published by the Americaii 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 
in which he made the following statements: 

"It is now fully three years since I came upon 
this ground with my little family. We found 
the natives in appearance to have nothing of 
that savage ferocity, so often ascribed as inher- 
ent in the features or manifested in the manners 
of the red men of the forest. They seem to be 
bold and pleasant, frank and hospitable. A; 
stranger just passing thru their towns with but 
a super fcial acquaintance would have a most 
favorable opinion of their character and could 
scarce conceive the moral turpitude and degre- 
dation, in which they were involved. But alas 
how mistaken have been the opinions of many 
with respect to the virtue and happiness of the 



T28 THE OSAGES. 

children of nature, possessinsg a country that is 
scarcely surpassed by any in facility of cultiva- 
tion, and capable of producing almost any deli- 
cate fruit and vegetable, these children of nature 
nevertheless are often reduced to the last extrem- 
ity, as a white man would suppose, for the want 
of food, and are found to subsist for weeks to- 
gether on acorns, and on roots dug out of the 
prairie, and for no other reason than their idle- 
ness and improvidence. 

''Vice reigns everywhere. The shameless ef- 
frontry with which they pollute their common 
discourse, is not to be known, except to a man 
who understands their language, for no interpre- 
ter feels at liberty to communicate fully the ideas 
they express. So entirely are they addicted to 
lying, that no confidence can be placed in what 
they say, neither do they pretend to place con- 
fidence in each other. And their intercourse 
formerly with white people has been such as to 
give them reason to suppose that other men, in 
this respect, are not very diflFerent from them- 
selves. So common, also, is their thieving not 
from white people and enemies only, but from 
one another, that there is not the least encourage- 
ment to labour and acquire property, since he 
who plants does it under expectation that depre- 
dations will be practiced upon him. Their game 
has been so abundant that they have felt little 
need of agricultural labours and have consequent- 
ly established a habit of considering it dishon- 
orable to do much besides hunting and going to 
war. 

"You ask how this people live? If by living 
be meant place, manners and accommodations — 
in the summer it is on the prairies, in the winter 
in the village huts ; three months perhaps in these 
huts and betwixt two or three months on the 



THK USAGES. 1 29 

prairie, tiie rest of the time they are scattered 
here and there, a few famihes together, hunting, 
moving every day .or two and lodging where night 
overtakes them. Their accommodations are few 
and simple. A few wooden dishes, two or three 
horn spoons, a knife, and a kettle or two, make 
up the amount of their household furniture. 
Their houses and manner of building them is 
equally rude. They set two rows of poles in 
the groun<l of a different width for their ac- 
commodation, and bring them together in a 
curve at the top. These they cover with flags 
or buffalo hides and when in their towns have 
mats laid upon the ground to recline and sleep 
upon. Their food, while in the towns, is prin- 
cipally jerked meat, boiled corn, dried pumpkins 
and beans. Wild fruits, acorns and other nuts, 
in the season of them, make up what is lacking, 
and when their provisions are exhausted they 
move off on their hunts. If they kill nothing 
the second or even the third day, they are not 
alarmed. Acorns or roots of the prairie are still 
at hand to supply them with a supper, so that the 
fear of starving is the last thing that would be 
likely to enter an Osage mind. 

•'The women plant the corn, fetch the wood, 
cook tlie food, dress the deerskins, dry their meat, 
make their moccasins, do all the business of 
moving, pack and unpack their horses and even 
saddle and unsaddle the horses on which their 
husbands and other male kindred ride, while the 
men only hunt and war, and, when in their 
towns, go from lodge to lodge to eat and drink 
and smoke and play at cards and sleep. For 
them it is no ill manners to doze away some hours 
of the day in a neighbor's lodge. 

"When I tell them I came to teach them the 
word of God they sometimes sneeringly ask. 



130 THE OSAGES. 

'Where is God? Have you seen Him?' And 
then laugh that I should think of making them 
believe a thing so incredible as a being who sees 
and takes know^ledge of them, while they can- 
not see Him. They indeed call the earth, sun and 
moon, thunder and lightning, God, but their con- 
ceptions on this subject are altogether indefinite 
and confused. Of a future state of rewards and 
punishments they have no conception. Some in- 
deed, perhaps the generality of them, have some 
confused ideas of a future state of existence, 
and suppose if they are painted, when they die, 
according to the peculiar mark of their family, 
they shall be known and join those of their rela- 
tives who have died and gone before them. But 
these ideas are only what might be called the tra- 
ditions and superstitions of the common people, 
and are regarded as foolishness by others, who 
in their philosophic pride, treat it as a chimera. 
Yet 01 all creatures, they seem most subject to 
supernatural fear and alarms. Darkness presents 
so many terrors to their imaginations, especially 
around their towns where their dead are buried, 
that few have courage to go abroad at night be- 
yond the light of their own dwellings." 

Father Bax, S. J., who came to the Osages 
with Father Schoenmakers in 1847, denies that 
thieving and lying was more prevalent among 
the Osages at that time, than among ordinary 
people. The letters of Father Bax appear else- 
where in this book, and contain much informa- 
tion about the Osages. 

Father Ponziglione's letters, also published m 
this book, tell much of the Osages. 

Father Schoenmakers wrote an article which 
was published in the Indian Herald, May 31, 
1876, in which he tells of the Osages as he saw 
them. His article is as follows : 



THE OSAGDS. 131 

"The states of Missouri and Arkansas were 
once territory belonging to the Osages, and some 
of the tribe who lived in 1847 were born where 
now is the city of Jefferson, and also along the 
Osage River, Missouri. They had a school near 
Pappinsville, in Bates county. In 1847 several 
half-breeds of the tribe had still farms on the 
Marmaton River near Ft. Scott. The tribe had 
now come to 'Kansas, and numbered 5,000, where 
whiskey did much harm among all classes. The 
Great George White Hair had a double log house 
for a dwelling place on a large farm, and owned 
a large saw and grist mill five miles from Mis- 
sion town. This property the Osages destroyed 
by fire, as it did not pay expenses. The White 
Hair band was kept within a few miles of the 
Mission school, and during the summer months 
the young men were always ready to work on the 
farm, and to split rails or firewood in winter. 
Clammor town was then where now is the town 
of Coffeyville, on the Verdigris River, Black 
Dog and Wolf towns were only three miles dis- 
tant. The Big Hills were located ten or more 
miles away, sometimes north and at other times 
south of the Verdigris. The Little Osages came 
formerly from Missouri and had joined! the 
Great Osages and in 1847 were living south of 
the Neosho river. The Owl family, however, 
pushed a few miles away and up Big Creek. In 
1850 the number of Osage children began greatly 
to increase, but in 1852 fell victims to disease 
and 800 died of measles. Scurvey, a disease 
which is more generally thought to belong to 
sailors and those whose lives are spent upon the 
feeas, then appeared with its train of alarming 
effects, and of the 400 who lived near the Mis- 
sion, forty died of this disease within one month. 
The tribe was also visited by small pox, some 



132 THK OSAGKS 

even suffering the third attack. In i860 health 
and hope again prevailed ; the Little Osages com- 
menced laising corn and beans. The White Hair 
band fenced large fields, built houses, and raised 
cattle and hogs. The Big Hills emulated their 
example, but the civil war that followed so soon, 
destroyed their fields, houses, cattle and other 
stock, and blasted even their hopes. 

**JOHN SCHOKNMAKKRS. S. J.'' 
S(^MK OSAGK HISTORY. 

An interview with Father Paul under the 
above title and signed "N," was published in the 
Oswego (Kansas) Graphic, December 13, 1882. 
It was as follows : 

"Father Ponziglione, of Osage Mission, called 
upon us the other day, and gave an account of 
his life here on the Neosho since '51. This rev- 
erend gentleman bears his age well, altho he rides 
in an ambulance in his ministerial work among 
the Indians south of us. 

"He says the Neosho country was once full of 
l)ears, but the Osages killed them off when they 
came here. Once an Indian had a captive Mexi- 
can woman and child ; he ordered the woman 
to ,go to the creek and get him some water to 
drink, and when she went to get the water he shot 
her. The priests took the child and ran it over 
into Missouri, out of harm. 

"Rev. P. says the Osages were settled in many 
places along the Neosho, farming. White Hair's 
village was a little north of Oswego, and Black 
Dog had a village over on the Verdigris river. 
The Indians heaped rocks over their dead. 

"John Matthews had two wives, both half- 
breeds, and one after the other died; his little 
^rl burned to death in a prairie fire. One of the 



THE OSAGES. 133 

boys is now in Texas, and the rest of the family 
in the Territory. John Matthews was the ear- 
Hest white man here, and another Matthews liv- 
ed a few miles north of Oswego, perhaps near 
Col. Swanswick's farm. Matthe^/s' house at 
Oswego, was a hewed log house, with a porch 
between two rooms. He was killed by Gen. 
Blont ; about thirty men were in the house asleep, 
when Blont came upon them. Matthews awoke 
and took up his gun and was shot dead, no one 
else was killed, but the house was burned. Con- 
siderable settlement was made at Montana be- 
fore the war. A great deal of fighting and burn- 
ing took place in the Territory during the war. 
Rev. P. thinks the Indians have a knowledge of 
silver mines east of Ft. Gibson. 

"The Father spoke of Samuel Short and his 
house and settlement. Short claims that all the 
Rebel Stan wait left him when he made a raid 
thru here was a cedar bucket and his commercial 
diploma, both of which were put in the Oswego 
Reading Room. A grave stone of young Mat- 
thews was taken and preserved by the Labette 
County Historical Society. Matthews' race track, 
we are told, was south of Oswego, from Sheriff 
Bender's residence to Wm. Sanford's farm. His 
field was along Third Avenue as far west as the 
Baptist church, and south from the east end of 
the church to Mr. Winton's residence, then back 
to Third Avenue. The old government road 
came from the north along the heads of the ra- 
vines near Mr. Raymond's residence, then a 
little north of the old stone school house, to 
John Kennear's house, and down the bluff near 
the old brewery. The spring in the east part of 
Oswego was a famous camping ground for emi- 
grants and travel-ers. Once a park of artillery 
was placed on the ridge south of the old brewery 



134 I'HK OS AGES. 

and north of Wm. Sanford's farm house, and the 
woods along the Neosho, at Harrison's Bend 
and around were shelled to drive away guerillas. 
Silverware has been found in the woods south 
of Oswego, and evidences of camps also. 

"Samuel Short said the guerillas would go 
over to Missouri, rob and burn houses, and es- 
cape here with their plunder. Sometimes men 
had their feet burned to make them tell where 
their money and silverware might be found. Mr, 
Gaylor found the marks of an axe in a walnut 
log on the Marley farm, east of the Neosho riv- 
er, 12 rings from the bark. Perhaps 20 years 
have elapsed since the tree died, this would make 
the cutting done near the Revolutionary War, 
and the evidence of the white man's agency in 
these parts a long time ago. 

"Let us by all means keep alive these old land 
marks." 

"During the war of the Rebellion," writes a 
Kansas historian, "the Osages sufifered much 
depredations of various kinds. Their newly 
built houses were torn down, their crops destroy- 
ed, and their hogs and cattle stolen." These 
depredations were the work of guerillas and un- 
friendly Cherokees who came up from the south. 
Becoming discouraged with their prospects, in 
7865 they ceded to the United States Govern- 
ment a strip off the east end of their reservation, 
fifty by thirty miles in extent, containing 9,600,- 
000 acres for $300,000 ; the money to be deposit- 
ed in the treasury of the United States and to 
draw five per cent interest, the interest to be 
paid to them semi-annually in money, clothing, 
provisions or such ar^cles of utility as the Sec- 
retary of the Interior might from time to time 
direct. At the same time thev also transferred 



THE OSAGES. 135 

in trust to the government to be sold for their 
benefit a strip off the north of the balance of 
their reservation, twenty miles in width from 
north to south and extending to the west limits 
of their reservation. The reservation thus re- 
duced was called the 'Diminished Osage Re- 
serve.' The O sages of the Neosho then move<l 
over to the Verdigris and farther west. In 1870 
they sold the remainder of their land to the gov- 
ernment for $1.25 per acre and moved to their 
present location in Oklahoma. 

The Osages still reside in the Osage Nation, 
Oklahoma, and are regarded as the richest race 
of people in the world. In June 191 3, these 
Osages numbered about 2,000 and had $7,024,- 
564.63 deposited to their credit, and own 1,400,- 
000 acres of land in the Osage Nation on much 
of which there are now producing oil wells from 
which the Osages receive handsome royalties. 

Mat Duhr, writing from Pawhuska, the cap- 
ital of the Osage Nation, for the Catholic Ad- 
vance, a few months ago, said : 

"The large amount of money disbursed to the 
2,300 Osage Indians, the 2,600 producing oil 
and gas wells and the large cattle pasturing busi- 
ness, supply the financial arteries of this town 
with much life blood. These Indians, the richest 
tribe in America, should thank the late Father 
Schoenmakers, who was for many years a mis- 
sionary among them, for their large tribal trust 
fund in the national treasury. 

"They w^ould have received only 25 cents per 
acre for their land in Kansas if Father Schoen- 
makers hadn't interceded for them and induced 
the government to pay them $1.25 per acre^ 

"The $9,000,000 Osage trust fund was the re- 
sult. 



136 TlIF, OSAGieS. 

*'The 70 congressional townships comprising 
the county were visited by some of the early 
Catholic missionaries, and the famous Washing- 
ton Irving traveled thru southeastern Osage 
county in 1832. 

"Father De Smet was here 70 years ago; 
Father Ponziglione administered to the spiritual 
wants of these Indians during many years ' Fath- 
er Felix de Grass, of Sacred Heart, Okla., often 
came to this place and united Mr. and Mrs. John 
F. Palmer in the bonds of matrimony. 

"About 800 members of the Osage tribe are 
Catholics. Many of the 650 fullblooded Wash- 
ashies are nominal Catholics but they are still' 
believers in the heathen superstitions of their 
savage forefathers. They wear blankets and 
moccasins, the squaws carry their $50,000 pa- 
pooses on their backs ; they howl over their dead. 
Many of the fullblooded adults belong to the 
Wah-ho-peh secret order ; they belicA^e in spooks 
and adore the turtle dove. 

"Nearly one hundred Osage girls, mostly mix- 
ed bloods, are taken care of at the Catholic Sis- 
ters' building in this locality. That large edi- 
fice was constructed about 25 years ago by re- 
quest of Sister Katherine Drexel, who paid all 
the expenses — and has done much to keep the 
institution going ever since. 

"It appears that the government school' here is 
a failure. Only about 50 or 60 Indian boys at- 
tend it. The others go to the public school and 
to the Sisters' school. 

"Many of the Osages are in favor of abolish- 
ing the Osage agency school. The agency ex- 
pended $40,000 of Osage money last year. 

"Several of the mixed bloods are pretty good 
farmers and stock-raisers. Messrs. John Linn, 
William Leahy and others are goof.i Catholics, 



THE OSAGES. 137 

good Indians and good citizens. Mr. John F. 
Palmer, the noted lawyer, orator, tree planter, 
horse-raiser and scholar is a fullblooded Sioux, 
but was adopted by the Osages when a^ young 
man. He is married to an amiable lady* of the 
Osage tribe who, however, is apparently a pure 
Caucasian. 

"This city is a beautifully located metropolis. 
Being in the valley of Bird creek, it is encircled 
by lofty hills that are deposits of good building 
stone and brick shale. Natural gas is so plenti- 
ful here that factories can buy it for 2 cents a 
1,000 feet. 

"About 900,000 acres of Osage county, Okla., 
has never been touched bv plow or hoe." 

An incident in the life of Chief Whitehair, as 
told by Jnlia Captain, an Osage, illustrates the 
good influences Fathers Schoenmakers and Pon- 
ziglione exerted over the Indians : 

Chief Whitehair was the son of Little White- 
hair, a distant relative of George Whitehair. He 
was born in Neosho county in 1834 and lived 
there until 1867 when he moved to the "dimin- 
ished reserve" on the Verdigris. His parents 
married him at an early age to two women ac- 
cording to the Osage custom. When our good 
missionary rebuked him for the way he had done, 
that he wished him to become a good Christian 
but that he could never do so and live with two 
women for it was against the laws of Christian- 
ity, he said: "Father, it is so; I have done so 
thru the will of my parents and if 1 have the 
misfortune to lose one of them I will marry the 
other one according to the Christian law, fulfil 
your wishes by becoming a good Christian." But 
as misfortune visits where it is least expected, it 
likewise visited Whitehair's family. It took both 



138 TH£ OSAG^S. 

of his wives and all of his children except a son 
who still lives. He mourned their loss according 
to the rules of his people, when he was baptised 
and married again according as he promised to 
one wife and lived with her until his death. A 
few hours before he expired (December 24, 
1869) he called his friends together and told 
them that God had made all mankind to die, and 
that his time had come; that he wished that his 
stepson should rei^ in his place. He wished 
his own son to remain at school and grow up an 
educated man. He told them they had many 
troubles before them, but they must live friends 
and unite, and he hoped they would overcome all. 
Whitehair was no warrior. He had been 
taught at an early age by our good missionaries 
that God was the great avenger of all wrongs, 
and that it was wrong for us to take revenge even 
from an enem)-, which good advice he was al- 
ways willing to take. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ANTECEDENTS OF THE MISSION. 

Christianity has carried civilisation along with 
it wherever it has gone. — Hare. 

Events which had a bearing on the establish- 
ment of the Osage Mission may be traced back 
to the early years of the nineteenth century. The 
Osages themselves appear to have been greatly 
responsible for it, altho at that time their home 
was in eastern Missouri. 

In 1820 a delegation of Osages called upon Rt. 
Rev. William Louis Dubourg, who had been con- 
secrated Bishop of Upper and Lower Louisiana, 
in Rome September 24* 181 5, and asked him to 
send some "black gowns" to teach their people. 
The seat of the See over which Bishop Dubourg 
presided was seated at New Orleans but be- 
cause of unsettled conditions in New Orleans, 
he made his headquarters in St. Louis, which 
at that time was also the home of a considerable 
number of the Osages. He therefore knew the 
conditions and needs of the Osages and set 
about to gratify their desires. 

Bishop Dubourg applied to Father Anthony 
Kohlman, then provincial of the Jesuits in Mary- 
land, to send some Fathers to establish a school 
among the Osages, but Father Kohlman had not 
the priests to spare and was not then able to com- 
ply with the bishop's request for help. 

Early in 1823 Bishop Dubourg went to Wash- 
ington for the pur]:)Ose of consulting President 
(139) 



140 ANTECEDENTS OF THE MISSION. 

Monroe and Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun 
on the subject of devising means of educating 
the children of the Indian tribes within his dio- 
cese. He was kindly received by thest .'courteous 
officials and during his interview with them Mr. 
Calhoun suggested the expediency of invitmg the 
Jesuits of Georgetown, Maryland, to furnish 
members of their order to assist in that work. 
The bishop then laid his plans before Rev. 
Charles Neale, who had succeeded Father Kohl- 
man in the office of provincial, and offered him 
a fertile farm near St. Louis as an inducement. 
The offer was readily accepted, for other events 
had transpired which enabled Father Neale to 
do what Father Kohlman could not.. 

In 1820 Rev. Charles Nerinckx, founder of the 
order of the Sisters of Loretto, w^ent to Europe 
on business connected with his missions in Ken- 
tucky. When he returned to the United States 
in 1 82 1 J he was accompanied bv a number of 
young men, most of whom were natives of Bel- 
gium, who came to America with the intention 
of devoting their lives to priestly and missionary 
employments. P. J. De Smet. Felix Verreydt and 
J. A. F.let were among them. Six of these young 
men were admitted as novices in the Jesuit no- 
vitiate at White Marsh, Maryland, October 6, 
1821. The master of novices at White Marsh 
was Rev Charles V^n Ouickenborne, a Belgian 
priest who had come to the United States from 
Ghent in 1817, and with the view of becoming a 
missionary among the Indians. In 1823 Father 
Neale and Father Van Ouickenborne decided to 
transfer the novices from White Marsh to St. 
Thomas' Manor, in Charles county, Maryland, 
because of the impoverished conditions then pre- 
vailing at White Marsh. It was at this juncture 
that Bishop Dubourg, acting on the suggestion 



ANTJeCKPKNTS OF THF, MISSION. I4I 

of John C. Calhoun, applied for the second time 
to the Jesuits for help in the western missions. 
It was an opportune time and the proposition met 
with the favor of the provincial, Rev. Charles 
Neale, who proposed the wish of the bishop to 
Father Van Quickenborne and expressed his 
own desire for the pious rector of White Marsh 
to be the leader and superior of a band, includ- 
ing such of the novices as might volunteer to ac- 
company him, and that with them and a few old- 
er members he should start for Missouri as soon 
as necessary arrangement could be made. Fath- 
er Van Ouickenbome quickly recognized this as 
an opportunity to gratify his desire to become 
^. missionary among the Indians, and readily as- 
sented. All six of the young Belgian novice^ 
volunteered to accompany him. Two . priestSji 
seven aspirants for. the priesthood, rthree, laji^ 
brothers and; three families of negro servant^ 
composed the party that set out for the west from 
White Miarsh, April 11, 1823. The trip to Wheel- 
ing was, made on: foot and required eighteen 
days.,..,rAt Wheeling two flat boats were purchas- 
ed ^apd. on tliese th^y made , the trip down tht^ 
Qiaio river to its mouth. From there tliey mad^ 
the remainder of the journey on foot, reaching 
the site of East vSt. Louis, May 31, 1823. They 
arrived at Florissant, Mo., their destination, June 
3, 1823, and established the headquarters of the 
Jesuits in the west. The Jesuits still maintain 
a novitiate at this place. The little band of 
Jesuits opened a school for Osage Indian chil- 
dren in 1824, and the young men studying tor 
the priesthood devoted part of their time to 
teaching the Indian children. This school flour- 
ished until the Indians moved to the Neo.sho 
when the Jesuits turned their attention to teachr 
ing the children of the white settlers who were 



142 ANTKCEDENTS OF THE MISSION. 

coming in, and soon after established the St. 
Louis University, now a flourishing institution. 

Shortly after the Osages applied to Bishop 
Dubourg for a ''black gown," Rev. Fr. Charles 
De La Croix was appointed to devote his time 
to the Indian Missions, and the records of St. 
Francis' church at St. Paul, Kansas, show that 
Father De La Croix baptised twelve Osages in 
1820. Ai: these records were sent to the "Osage 
Mission" church for preservation, it is quite 
probable that these baptisms were performed on, 
what is now Kansas soil, or just across the line 
in Missouri. In May, 1822, Father De La Croix 
is known to have visited the Osages on the Neo- 
sho in the vicinity of where the Osage Mission 
was kaer established. Here on May 5, 1822, he 
baptised Antone Choteau. Kansas historians say 
this was the first baptism performed in what now 
comprises the state of Kansas. This would in- 
dicate that they did not know of Father De La 
Croix's first trip west, or that they did not be- 
lieve he came as far west as the Neosho. 

Father De La Croix was preparing to build a 
chapel among the Osages on the Neosho when 
his health became poor from exposure, thus com- 
pelling him to return to Missouri. 

Father Van Ouickenborne prepared to take up 
the work of Father De La Croix without delay. 
He began active work personally among the 
Osages near St. Ivouis soon after bis arrival 
there. His first triT3 west, however, was not 
made until 1827 when he visited the various 
villages of the Osages on the Neosho. Verdi- 
gris and Marmaton rivers. He made a second 
trip to the Neosho in 1829, and anotlier in 1830. 
It was on this trip that he performed the mar- 
riage ceremony for Francis Aybean and Mary, 
an Osage woman, that is said bv Kansas writers 



ANTECEDENTS OF THE MISSION. I43 

to have been the first wedding ceremony per- 
fornied on Kansas soil. He made a fourth vis- 
it to the Osages in 1834. 

Father H. G. Allen or Aelen, S. J., succeeded 
Father Van Quickenborne. This Father bap- 
tised a large number of Osages in 1841 and 1842. 
The records at the "Mission" give his name plain- 
ly as "Allen," but as the Jesuits claim there was* 
no member of their order at that time named 
Allen, it is quite probable this was Father Aelen, 
who at that time was first assistant to Father 
Christian Hoecken at St. Mary's Mission among 
the Pottawatomies. 

Father F. L. Verreydt, S. J., succeeded Father 
Aelen. He, too. came to the Osages from St 
Mary's Mission. The records of St. Francis' 
church show he baptised Osages on the Neosho 
in 1843 and 1846. He was the immediate pred- 
ecessor of Father Schoenmakers, and may have 
been his companion to the Neosho when the lat- 
ter made his first trip to his future home in 1846. 

Prior to 1845 ^^^ Indian Department of the 
United States government was planning to es- 
tablish a school among the Osages west of Miss- 
ouri, but no definite action appears to have been 
taken until April 25, 1845, when the sum of 
$3,456 was placed in the hands of Major Harvey 
to be used in erecting two houses and the neces- 
sary out-buildings, one of the houses to be used 
as a school for the Osage Indian boys and the 
other for the Osage girls. These houses were to 
be of sufficient dimensions to accommodate 
twenty pupils each, with the teachers. 

Major Harvey entered into a contract with 
Father J. Van De Velde. who had, on September 
17, 1843. become vice-provincial of the Jesuits in 
Missouri. This contract provided that the Jesu- 
its take charge of the school, that the govern- 



144 ANTECEDENTS OE THE MISSION. 

ment furnish the buildings and pay the Jesuits 
$55 P^r y^^^ ^^^ board and tuition of each pupil 
attending the school. A clause of the contract 
specified that "in virtue of this contract, no 
rnore than thirty-three boys can be ?idmitted into 
the school for the first six months, beginning 
\^ith the 15th of April, 1847." Major Harvey 
was empowered to allow an increased number of 
f)oys to attend the school as the funds ajL hts 
disposal would permit. , .; ,V ,^ 4?' 

The present site of St. Paul, Kansas/was se- 
lected for the school and work on the buildings 
was started as soon as arrangements could be 
made. Father Van de Velde selected Father 
John Schoenmakers to take charge of the school 
^fre'to be established. In 1846 Father Schoeti- 
mjakers ma.de a trip to the Neosho to make the 
preliminary arrangements for the establishment 
pfdiis future home. After a short slay, -he re- 
turned to St. Louis for supplies and to await the 
completion of the buildings. On April 29, 1847* 
Fs^ther {^choenmakers arrived on ihe Neosho to 
make his permanent home and to open the school 
for the Osage s. Thus the "Osage Mission" was 
Established. 



WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 

Magazine for June, 1B72V .^;">'^^'^sq jbu^t^d boo^ 
;;f A few dky^ after Ea^tef '6f 'tlf^-J^af ,^i8^f;1:he 
tIeWs reached the Mission that Pius IX had erect- 
ed tlie Indian territory into an apostblic vicariate; 
comprising Kansas. Nebraska and Colorado, and! 
tTiat' the Right Reverend John B. ^fiege 'W^s ip 
r^'jidy on his way to his arduous missions. '^-^'^'-^ '^^- 
/"Bishop Miege left St.^ Louis in i\fay- 1851, Wt^ 
Rev. Paul Ponzigiione and two lay brothers, rw^ilt' 
fifsF to St'MafV's 0^' tlie^^btJtawatomieSr an 
afler a few ■W^'eks, in the company of Fathef 
Diiriiik! Superior of St. Mary's. Father Ponzi^li^ 
one and the brothers, went across the vast praw 
ries, and reached the Osage Mission on the 26th; 
Of June. The joy felt by the Fathers was erjual- 
e^d'only by fhat of the Indians. "They came in 
groups to, see the 7"'a/>w^ca-PFafa;i^a (tbe pW^ 
IdfdT and pay hitir their Tiomages. ' , ■\-':'^ 'v " ^^^, 
' The bisliop remained a few weeks^at tn'ie'-'Miy 
siop acting as a simple missionary, preaching, 
baptising, visiting the wigwams and iristructing 
the Indians. Before leaving, he solemnly admin- 
istered th.c sacrament of confirmatioii^, leaving 
Father Ponzigiione' at the Mission. '"-'"■ '- ^ 

But things were too prosperous : some" iifflie- 
tiotis were at hand. The time of trial came in 
October. The health of Father Schoenmakers 
failed to jin alarming degree. No doctor being 
at'^an^^-fte wSs^^^aken in a (ibiiiriion '#agon to 



146 WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 

Fort Scott, and placed under the care of the 
doctors at the fort. Never will the kindness of 
officers, doctors and soldiers be foro^otten. They 
all vied with each other to relieve the pains of 
the poor sufferer; while Fathers Bax and Pon- 
ziglione visited him weekly in turn. Thanks lo 
the kindness shown Father Schoenmakers, he 
could return to the Mission in January, 1852, in 
good health, perfectly recovered. 

About the time, of the return of Father Schoen- 
makers, George White Hair, who had been ailing 
for some time became very sick. The Indians 
left their towns and came in great numbers to 
see their chief. The '*Medicine-men" also offer- 
ed their services. The venerable old chief knew 
them, thanked them kindly for their attention, 
and requested them to leave him in peace and 
abstain from perfonning superstitious rites 
around him, for he was a Christian and desired 
to die a Christian. After this, he placed himself 
entirely in the hands of Father Bax by whom 
he had been instructed and baptised. Soon after, 
he received the last rites of the church, and the 
23rd day of January he calmly expired to enter 
a better life. 

The death of White Hair was a terrible blow. 
The wild Indians, as was to be expected, became 
furious because their great chief had died with- 
out a medicine-man attending him. They dis- 
liked to see him buried as a white man. He was 
a brave, they said, and he must be buried as a 
brave. They found fault with all the attentions 
lavished upon him by Father Bax. Why did he 
talk in secret to their chief? Why did he anoint 
him, except to perform a bad charm upon him? 

What did he give him to eat that he called 
communion, if not to poison him? They went 
about sowing dissatisfaction among the ignor- 



WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 1 47 

ant, saying that the fathers were going to put 
their chief in a hole like a dog instead of burying 
him with all the honors due to such a chief, a 
brave — killing his horse on his grave and hanging 
around the scalps of his enemies. They went so 
far that they accused the Fathers of killing him 
by inducing him to abandon the worship of his 
nation to adopt a strange one. "What did bap- 
tism avail him? ''He displeased the Great Spirit, 
and that is all," they would say. Hence they 
concluded it was useless to follow such a belief, 
and that they should stand by their old ways. Sev- 
eral who were preparing to receive baptism were 
discouraged ; all the braves mourned for their 
chief, and all the ceremonies of pagan worship 
were put to use. 

This was disheartening; but it was not enough. 
A Ouapaw Indian went from his country to visit 
his daughter who was at school^ He fell sick 
on the way, and when he reached the Mission he 
was in a dying state. His sickness was the meas- 
les. The man was kept in a secluded room, but 
it was to no purpose. The infection spread 
around and soon one-half of the children were 
down sick. The Mission was a hospital. All, 
care was taken, but a few died. When the In- 
dians heard of the epidemic, they were frantic; 
they rushed for their children and took them 
home, for they found fault that they were not 
treated as Indian children ought to be treated. 
"You know nothing about Indians," they would 
say. Thus the parents took their children and 
brought them into the Neosho to cool their fever 
and wash off the sickness, and, as could be ex- 
pected, almost all died. . 

Children dying so fast in the camps of the In- 
dians moved the heart of Father Bax to follow 
and baptise them. He went, traveled constantly. 



148 WE;StBRN INDIAN MISSION. 

iiVM ii^ allthe dirt of the Indian wigwam and 
■W&$ satis^ed with their fare, poor and dirty as it 
was. Thus he baptised many before they gave 
iip their lives. But this very thing catased the 
bitterest rage of the medicine men. •■' »' ''^' 
''v'^The medicine-men were and are still a set of 
cfafty men, wh6, mixirtg sorcery with cunning, 
act as doctors, and sometimes perform wonderful 
tricks. Thi^ is -thfe way they make a living. These 
itien fearfiil of the presence of Father Bak, aiid 
seeitig the nuitiber of their dupes diminishing, 
Went about slandering him, accusing him of kill- 
ing children hy baptism. As in all times of ex- 
citement, the foolish accusation is believed. Fath- 
er Bax is refused adiliittance, he is abused, he is 
called a murderer of children, and e^ren illtreated. 
It was expected that the Mission would be de- 
stroyed. ■ ; "■'■'^ ;■• ■ ' ^ ■'•' ■''^■-' V.-.:^iKf ^ '■ '■ 

The crisis, however, took place when- adtrlts be^ 
gan to be attacked with the epidemic. Not only 
the measles, but also the scurvy was making 
frightful ravages. Its malignity was unprece- 
dented. Over eight hundred Osages died durii^ 
the spring. 'Maiiy having died who were not 
baptised, the survivors noticed the circumstances, 
and soon they returned, begging forgiveness for 
saying that baptism had killed tJiem, since so 
many died who were not baptised, and they were 
the first to laugh at their own terror. 
' In consequence of the incessant visits of Fath- 
er Bax among the Osages, attending the sick and 
the dyings of the rough life he led, of the dirt he 
had to encounter, he contracted the sickness that 
was decimating them, the scurvy. In May of 
that terrible spring, he gave evident signs of the 
disease. Tie, however, continued his missionary 
excursions until he could go no more. Then, and 
then only, he gave up, was brought to Fort Scott, 



WE;STt!;RA INDIAN MISSION. I49 

and was attended most carefully by the liberal 
commanding officer and the doctor. But it was 
too late ; the disease had made frightful progress, 
and on the last day of July he gave up his soul 
to God, after having received the last rites of 
the church at the hands of Bishop Miege, who 
had reached Fort Scott the day before. 

• Father Bax was thirty-five years old when 
death put an end to his apostolic labors. He had 
an ardent Zeah a particular gift of speech, and 
the whole crowned with the most exalted virtues 
and an unalterable gentleness of inanner.- His 
delight was to instruct children. From his con- 
stant intercourse wnth the Osages, he had acquir- 
ed a great knowledge of their language, and 
great hopes were placed on him for the future of 
the nation. Being so amiable and unpretending, 
he had the confidence of the Indians and the 
whites. Hi< charity was boundless, and Was the 
cause of his death. -,,•; ; ^ 

Father Bax had desired to be buried among 
his dear Osages. Hence he was brought to the 
Mission, and the rites of the Catholic church 
wete sung over his remains. Father Schoen- 
makers addressed the people, and feelingly told 
of the shining virtues of the dear deceased. The 
congregation gave signs of the deepest sorrow. 

The Indians, on their way back from a partiali 
hunt, heard of the death of Father Bax. They 
made haste and arrived in time. They begged 
the Fathers to have the bier opened. To please 
them, it was done. But no sooner had they view- 
ed their Father and friend, dressed in his priestly 
robes, resembling more a person in sleep, than in 
death, than they raised a loud cry» and forgetting 
that they were in church, began their mourning 
song, as they have it at the loss of a dear friend. 
Their excitement was so great that for two 



I50 WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 

hours they walked around the bier striking their 
breasts, and singing the terrible mourning song. 
Only then did they give up ; the coffin was closed, 
and all in the ])rocession carried him to his rest- 
ing place. 

The 29th of October. 1852, Father Adrian 
Van Hulst went from St. Louis to fill the place 
of Father Bax. His help was much needed. The 
government had allowed the Qiiapaws to send 
their children to the Osage manual school, so 
that the number of pupils had nearly doubled. 
Besides, the Indians of the six nations, generally 
called New York Indians, had just settled on a 
small stream called Little Osap^e, near Fort Scott, 
and it became necessary to visit them, as many 
among them were Catholics. 

Father Van FTulst went on his apostolic duties 
with great zeal. The Ouapaws, the Senecas, the 
Cherokees, the Creelvs and the Seminoles receiv- 
ed his frequent visits. He extended them as 
far as Fort Gibson at the junction of the Neosho 
with the Arkansas river. The fruits derived 
from these visits were immense. But. alas! the 
hardships he experienced in traveling thru these 
boundless deserts so impaired his health that his 
superiors had to recall him to rest for a while. 
He left for St. Louis on the 14th dav of October. 
T8t;4, having spent two years at the Mission. 

The half-breeds gave the Fathers much conso- 
lation, but for the Osage Indians it was difficult 
to do anv eood amone them. Thev were glad to 
hear the Word of God, and could well take a 
rebuke, frequently acknowledging that they de- 
served it ; but when it was a question of Chris- 
tianitv in practice, of civilization, thev covered 
their heads with their blankets, kept silence* and 
as soon as politeness could allow, thev woul-d 
leave. It was not that thev did not understand 



W]SSTi:RN INDIAN MISSION. I5I 

the importance of Christianity. When sick, they 
all desired to be baptised; but for the sake of 
truth, we must say that many on recovering, 
returned to pagan worship. Human respect and 
interest did that great evil. The following will 
illustrate this matter : A brave of the Beaver 
band of Osages had a nephew at school. The 
young boy was gifted, and had been baptised and 
received communion. His uncle went to the Mis- 
sion, and said he should take his nephew home. 
Father Schoenmakers objected, because it was 
the epoch of the foolish worship of the Osages. 
But he would have his nephew and take him to 
the worship. The Father argued with him and 
proved to him that he was wrong. The old brave 
listened in silence, and acknowledged that it was 
interest that made him ask the like; that he did 
not care for Indian worship ; that but few believ- 
ed in it; but that if he took his nephew there he 
would get a large share of buffalo on account of 
the boy's father having been a great brave, who 
died in a war with the Comanches, and as he was 
a poor man he would have his own and his 
nephew's share for the winter. 

Ehiring that year, lands in the newly formed 
Territory of Kansas began to be opened for set- 
tlement* and many families settled about the Mis- 
sion, on account of the advantages of the school. 
Thus the congregation was much increased. 

Father Ponziglione, this same year, from the 
Miamis, went to visit the Chippewas and Otta- 
was, living near the mouth of Ottawa Creek, near 
the Osage River. Most of these Indians were 
Catholics J but not having been visited for years, 
he had hard work baptising and instructing them. 
This mission gave him much consolation. 

In September. 1855, Right Reverend Bishop 
Miege took to himself Father Heimann, who had 



152 WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 

Tlow been for six years at the Mission. During 
this time he had so well organized the schools 
that the children were the delight of all who saw 
tjbern. Their.rnoclesty and good behavior, along 
with their progress w'Cre remarkable. Twice a 
year they gave public exhibitions, that were at- 
tended by all Indians and whites. The Mission 
lost a great help by the removal of Father Hei- 
mknn, who, besides his noble schpol/Ti^y'^'^^cJ-' 
e^ the Germans Ojf Dfeep-Water. ' ' ' J .• ' 7;'-!5 
^^Ri t5ie^^{itTT^er''bf r8|57,: a brbtliier priest^ Wa$ 
sfeM f rohi' St. ' Loiiis ' 'to' work among; the' Osag<6's. 
This was- Father ' \^ah Lengeiihage, commonly 
called ■FatlV^rL'Oj^^n; This good man was strong 
and full of :^eal. He set to wbrk at once. Biit 
e(fes ! ■' his conversations with the Indians temiin- 
it^d'iis did all such cOnversatibj^s, by utter sil- 
erlcei,"'idnd retii^ing $s .<p6n as possible.' Evfdeuyf 
they were not for Christianity and civiltzajioti, 
and althd thev did not b«?lieve ih Manit'ou wbrj- 
ship, 3'^et' it paid them- better, and they clung to it. 
At this time, these satne Indians had. besid(^s, 
been irhbued by careless white trappers with' kH 
the false ideas of scepticism ancV infidelity." ' / '■ 
• '-'Thr'^e 'settlements of Catholic families \ver.e 
foHnerf on Pptta\^atomie Creek, Fall Rivei* ahd 
the Verdigris. These were visited regularly to 
the great delight of those poor people. They 
had thus an occasion of performing their Chris- 
ticin duties. These settlements were oveF sev- 
ehty-five miles' from the Osage Mission. - ' ''-f^^^ 
Father Logan worked faithfully among the 
OsagcS' and thru his exertions several were con- 
\^ned and baptised. But soon, altho not a word 
of complaint passed his li])s, it was evident that 
he suffered, and the kind Father Sclioenmakers 
resolved to bring him back to St. Louis. Fle had 
hardly reached there when a severe brain fever 



WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 1 53 

^et in, and he expired on the 4th of July, 1858, 
P^ing thirty-two years of age, and passed from 
|}iis life into the light of heaven. The 25th of 
A,ugust he was replaced at the Mission by Father 
J^ies Van Gooch. 

In the fall of that year. Bishop Miege visited 
the settlement on the Pottawatomie, and gave 
these good people, who were overjoyed. Father 
Ivo Schact for pastor. To relieve the Osage Mis- 
sion, he was also to attend the "Miamis, Peonas, 
Weas» Piangishas, Ottawas and Chippewas. 
"Wjien Father Schact, a year after, was removed 
tp Lawrence, he kept such missions, because they 
were French-speaking Indians, v/hich language 
he spoke ; and tliey were left as a legacy to his 
successor, Father Favre, now Professor of 
Thieology ?d the Seminary of the Assumption, 
^yho also speaks French, and did much good 
among them. r \;.^ 

I pass rapidly over the years that followed, ^1^ 
new church was built ; the exercises of a jubil-ee 
brought many to church; many were baptised, 
ind. the work progressed as usual. I will say 
nothing of the measles, which attacked again the 
cliildren of the school, nor the prejudice that fol- 
lowed it— prejudice so foolish and yet so strong 
that Father Van Gooch having visited a village 
of the Little Osages, the chief of the tribe ac- 
cused him of killing children by baptism ; and 
night coming on. he was refused lodging and 
obliged to pass the night upon the naked prairie, 
cold and famished after a whole day's ride, ana 
that for fear he would perform some great spell 
against them. I say nothing of the increasing 
goodness of the half-breeds, nor the show of a 
desire of civilization among the wild Indians, 
who brought to school as many as two hundred 
and thirtv-five children and occasioned thus the 



1:54 W£;STe:RN INDIAN MISSION. 

expense of new buildings. I say but a word of 
the pius death of Gratamantze, successor of 
White Hair, as great chief of the Osages. This 
old man had been baptised by Father Van Quick- 
enborne years before. Taken away soon after, 
while a small boy, he joined in all the follies of 
Manitou worship, but as soon as he succeeded 
White J^iair he became a fervent Christian. The 
chief oi the Quapaws — Wartishi by name — 
was baptised the same year under the name of 
Joseph. It is needless to say that in that year 
Father Schoenmakers, desirous of seeing the In- 
dians at work, offered them regular wages if 
they would go to the woods and split rails to 
build fences for themselves. The Father and his 
men went, and with the rails fenced plots of 
ground around the wigwams, which they plowed 
and planted, while the Indians were sitting in 
the shade smoking. When the corn grew, they 
ate the green ears, and all was over. 

But let us pass from these tribes to the hard 
times experienced by the Mission during the late, 
war. When, on the 12th of April, 1861, the first 
gun was shot at Fort Sumpter, it reached alli 
over the land, and the forest Indians themselves 
felt it. I*laced so near the border, the Osage 
Mission suffered much from incursions of the 
military. The fact is, that some demanded all 
because they were enemies, and the others de- 
manded all because they were friends. Stead- 
fast in his duty toward the I^nion, Father Schoen- 
makers was in particular the object of the 
hatred of all the troops of guerillas which pass- 
ed by. Five hundred dollars reward was offered 
for liis head. Hence he left the ]\Iission, and re- 
tired for some months to St. Mary's. The storm 
over, he returned home. During his absence, 
Father Ponziglione was throttled to give up 



WliSTiiRN INDIAN MISSION. 1 55 

the arms that were said to be concealed at the 
Mission. After a brutal search, finding none, 
they abused Father Hoecken, whom they met. A 
dastardly attempt was made upon the life of 
Father Van Gooch. On his return from Fort 
Scott, where he had been attending the numerous 
soldiers professing the Catholic faith, he fell into 
the hands of a band of robbeis dressed in mili- 
tary. They ordered him from his horse, made 
him kneel down, their guns leveled — the word 
only was wanting. But the leader, more human 
than those fiends, said there was no glory in kill- 
ing a man without arms and making no resist- 
ance. He promised to attend to him in due time, 
and had him conveyed to the house of a friend, 
whence he reached the Mission in safety. 

Some speculators, desiring to enrich them- 
selves, came among the Osages and raised re- 
cruits among them. Rut an Indian remains an 
Indian, altlio dressed in soldier's clothes. They 
all left the ranks and returned home, where they 
sold their clothes for a dram of whiskej^, and 
went buffalo hunting. They drank freely » and 
Father Ponziglione, not knowing this, arrived at 
the Osage town of Nantze-Waspe. There he was 
surrounded, complaints were made against the 
officers v/ho enrolled them and paid them not, 
thence against all tb.e white men; knives were 
branished around the Father, and poised to stab 
him. Just then a cry of terror was heard ; Union 
troops v/ere near, and he was saved. 

Several tribes of Indians flying from the South 
came up among the Osages. These more or less 
demoralized the Osages. as well as chose who 
had been in the army. In vain were they in- 
structed, invited to be civilized and cared for; it 
was useless. "Father," they would say, ''you 
promised us very great things in the name of 



156 WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 

your Great vSpirit in another land. We are poor 
now ; why does He not give them here now? We 
are bound to work for you or starve." Thus 
they reasoned ; for heavenly things they had no 
relish ; sugar, tea and coffee were better to them. 

As soon as the spring opened they rushed to 
their forests, and while the Easter offices were 
performed at the M'ission, you might have heard, 
one mile further in the woods, the mournful song 
of the Ta-Jii-un, their worship song, accompanied 
by the drum, and if peuetrating nearer you 
should be able to see them you would find them 
in their forest recess sacrificing their bird to the 
Great Si^rit, and like the ancient augurers con- 
sulting- the palpitations ;an.d convulsions of the 
dissected animal to foretell their success in war 
or the hunt. - ■ ^ 

. In the meanwhile the dangers increased: both 
the white settlers and the Indians abandoned 
the countr}' and the Mission was deserted ; the 
schools were very full, but no protector was near. 
Tlie only breastwork was the innocence of the 
little children. The fact is that several guerilla 
troops went ithexe to pillage and burn, and yet 
were restrained from it by the innocence of the 
little ones, who, having no knowledge of friend 
or foe were equally kind to all. 

0.ne band, howevei, took all the provision^i 
all the clothing to be found in both houses, even 
that of the childreut and retired without more 
injury. This caused Father v^choenmakers to ap- 
ply to Generals Charles Blair and Thomas Kwing 
for troops, which request was readily granted, 
and a company of soldiers was stationed at the 
Mission, thus checking the constant inroads of 
robbers, and giving security to teachers anrl pu- 
pils. 

The Mission was in great danger when a large 



WESTKRN INDIAN MISSION. 1^7 

train escorted by soldiers left the place for Fort 
Smith, but was captured by the Confederates 
near Cabin Creek, sixty-five miles south. Gen- 
eral Price and his army became formidable; but 
fortunately, before reaching Baxter Springs, the 
old general cast his soldiers into the State of 
Missouri. All the soldiers scattered about, and 
indeed all available men were mustered into 
service to defend our State from invasion. Soon 
after the assasination of Abraham Lincoln peace 
was proclaimed, confidence was restored, and 
the settlers returned to their homes. 

As is always the case after stich wars, suspi- 
cious characters remain for the spoils, and steal 
now in the dark, since they cannot rob publicly 
as before. Thus in one night all the horses and 
the greater part of the stock of the Alission 
were removed, and no tidings were ever had of 
their whereabouts. The mission lost consider- 
ably during this unhappy war, without the hope 
of ever receiving one cent back. 

In the year 1865. Father Hoecken was remov- 
ed from the ^.lission. and Father John Cunning- 
ham sent to reside at Fort Scott, where Father 
Ponziglione had finished a good church and form- 
ed a congregation. 

In the fall of the same year, the United States 
Government sent its agents to a great council 
with the Osages. All the chiefs and braves met 
on the In-sca-po-oushu Creek, and the white men 
met on Canville's Creek. Father Schoenmakers 
was officially invited to attend, and taking the 
stand, he explained to the Indians the advantage 
resulting for them from a treaty with the United 
States. This treaty was signed by both parties 
on the spot. 

As soon as the land was open for settlement! 
a rush was made, and the work increased consid- 



158 WESTERN INDIAN MISSION. 

erably. A church was built and congregation 
formed £t Humboldt. But great confusion fol- 
lowed the taking of claims by men who had no 
right to such. Quarrels followed among the set- 
tlers, but all were happily adjusted, and the 
church coukl not contain all the Catholics. An- 
other missionary was sent to help in the good 
and difficult work. This was Father John 
Schoensetters. The distant missions were again 
visited to the great joy of the Catholic population. 

Father Schoensetters attended the white popu- 
lation of Carthage, Granby, Newtonia and Neo- 
sho, in Missouri, and the new settlements on the 
Ouapaw, Seneca and Cherokee lands, also Cow 
Creek, Spring River and Neosho, in Kansas, and 
Baxter Springs. 

The Osages, six months after the treaty, hav- 
ing moved to their new reservation, Father 
Schoenmakers followed them, in order to in- 
struct them. Starting from the Mission, he fol- 
lowed the Osage trail, and reached first the 
bands of Clermont and Black Dog, on Pumpkin 
Creek, in the Verdigris V^alley. thence to Big Hill, 
a large Osage town of one hundred lodges. Leav- 
ing Big Hill, he came into the camps of Beaver, 
Wliite If air, Xantze-Waspe and IJttle Osage, at 
the junction of Fall River and the Verdigris. 

During these last years, the Catholic popula- 
tion of the Osage Mission increased so much 
that a large church is in way of construction ; a 
coiwent has been built for the Sisters of Loretto 
and a residence will soon be built for the Fath- 
ers. A large circulating library has been es- 
tablislicd by Father Colleton, who succeeded 
Father Schoensetters. So that everything goes 
prosperously. 

^vTany churches have been built and congrega- 
tions established in the neighborhood, and con- 



W^STKRN INDIAN MISSION. 1 59 

stantly some of the Fathers are on missionary 
tours. 

The Jesuit Fathers of the Osage Mission have 
been the pioneers of Kansas. They have, accord^ 
ir^g to the text of the Scriptures, sown the seed 
of the Word of God into those wild countries; 
others will come who will in joy reap the harvest. 
Perhaps lofty cathedrals will be raised where the 
poor pioneer priest has rejoiced in raising a 
small cross. All die good performed will be 
known at the day of reckoning, when all nations 
will stand before the throne of God and be judg- 
ed according to their works. 

James H. De^ouri. 



CHAPTER X. 

FATHER DE LA CROIX. 

Father Charles De La Croix was the first mis- 
sionary among the Osages in what is now Kan- 
sas, of which We have found any record, and not 
much is known of his work, aside from what has 
already been said in this book. 

P'ather De La Croix was born at Hoorbeke, St. 
Corneille» Belgium, October 28, 1792, and was 
educated at the seminary at Ghent. When Na- 
poleon I, by aid of his military power, appointed 
a bishop contrary to the wish of the people of 
the Diocese, the students at Ghent resisted, and 
as a punishment young De La Croix and his 
brother were imprisoned in the fortress at Wes- 
sel, where his brother died. After the fall of the 
empire he resumed his studies and was ordained 
at Ghent by Bishop Dubourg, of St. Louis, and 
sailed for America with the bishop. In May, 
181 8, he was put in charge of the missionary 
work at Barrens, Perry count), Mo., and at the 
same time was assigned the duties of superin- 
tending the construction of a seminary building 
for the diocese of Louisiana. On December 3, 
1 81 8, he went to Florissant* also called St Ferd- 
inand, near St. Louis. He continued his labors 
there until about August, 1823. 

It was while located at Florissant that Father 
De La Croix made his trips to the Osages on 
the Neosho. He is known to have visited the 
Osages in 1820 and the records of St. Francis' 
church show he baptised twelve Osages on this 

(160) 



FATHER DE LA CROIX. l6l 

occasion, but the location is not stated and pos- 
sibly may have been at liarmony, which was just 
across the line in Missouri. The church rec- 
ords show more baptisms of Osages by him in 
1822. These were most likely performed some- 
where near where St. Paul. Kansas, is now lo- 
cated, and Aiidrech's History of Kansas says these 
were the first baptisms on record performed in 
Kansas territory. Father Paul, in one of his let- 
ters, says Father De La Croix was preparing to 
build a chapel among the Osages when he was 
taken away by death. In this Father Paul ap- 
pears to havebeen mistaken, for he lived nearly 
fifty years after his last visit to Kansas and made 
a remarkable record. 

Between his trips to Kansas Father De La 
Croix lair] the corner stone for a new church at 
Florissant on February 19, 1821. This church 
was completed thru his efforts in 182^^ Chi 
August 31, 1823, he helped Father \'an Quicken- 
borne break ground for the foundation for the 
first building to be erected by the Jesuits at that 
place, and a few days later he turned the new 
church over to the care of Father Van Quicken- 
borne and departed for Louisiana. 

On August 21, 1 81 8, he established the con- 
vent of the Sacred Heart at Florissant, Mo., 
over which Mother Philippine Duchesne ruled 
for several years before she came to Kansas and 
established a school among the Pottawatomies on 
Sugar Creek in 184T. This convent later passed 
into the hands of the Sisters of Loretto who 
still maintain an academy there. 

Father De La Croix is classed as a most zeal- 
ous worker both in local and missionary fields. 
He prepared the way for Father Van Quicken- 
borne and the other Jesuit miss'onarics who 
came to Florissant in 1823. He had built and 



1 62 FATHER DE LA CROIX. 

paid for a brick church, had started a farm and 
opened the missionary field for the Jesuits, all 
of which he turned over to them soon after their 
arrival. He then became pastor of St. Michaers 
parish in Lower Louisiana until 1829, when he 
went to Belgium to recuperate his health. While 
there he collected funds sufficient to build a new 
church in his old parish in Louisiana, and re- 
turning! to America he completed the church 
in 1832. In 1833 he went back to Belgium and 
became canon of the Cathedral of Ghent, which 
position he heW until his death on August 20, 
1837- 



CHAPTER XL 

FATHER VAN QUICKENBORNE. 

"Dwells in his little village, the Black Robe chief 

of the Mission, 
Much lie teaches the people, and tells them of 

Mary and Jesus; 
Loud laugh their hearts zmth joy, and weep with 

pain, as they hear him." — LongfelIvOW. 

Rev. Charles \ an Quickenborne, S. J., was 
the second missionary among the Osages in the 
west. He was the successor of Father De La 
Croix and a most zealous worker. His labor 
among the Osages while they remained near St. 
Louis are told in another chapter. His first trip 
west was in 1827, when he visited the Osages on 
the Neosho, \'erdigris and Marmaton rivers. 
Many of the Osages had become acquainted with 
him in eastern Missouri before they came west 
and they gave him a hearty welcome. He made 
other trips to the Osages in the west in 1829, 
1830 and 1834, baptising many on each trip. 

On the records of St. Francis' church, St. 
Paul, Kansas, appears the following, with a certi- 
ficate that it is an exact copy of the original 
report made by Father Van Quickenborne : 

''The publication having been dispensed with, I 
have received the mutual consent of and given 
the nuptial blessing according to the rites of our 
holy mother, the Catholic church, to the follow- 
ing couples : 

(163) 



164 FATHER VAN QUICKE^NBORNE. 

"i. Francis D. Aybean alias Brugiere, ai 
Frenchman, and Mary, an Osage woman. 

'*2. Joseph Brown alias Egiiesne, a Frenchman 
son of Stephen Brown and Acile Giguiere, and 
Josette A. Aybean, daughter of Francis A. Ay- 
bean, a Metif girl of the Osage Nation. 

''3. Basile "\>sseur, son of Basile who was a 
half-breed of the Osage Nation, and Mary, an 
Osage woman, daughter of Kansa Shinza. 

"The witnesses have been Christopher Sanguin- 
ess and Louis Peltier. 

"Done at the house of Francis D. Aybean, near 
tlie bank of the Marmaton river in 1830. 

"Cns. F. Van QuiCKENr-oRNE. S. J." 

All Kansas histories consulted by the writer 
state the above marriages were performed on 
the Neosho in 1828 and that Father Van Quick- 
enborne died in 1828. Indeed Father Ponzigli- 
one, in one of his letters, gives 1828 as the year 
of his death. It is apparent that all these are in 
error. 

The charter of the St. Louis University was 
issued on December 28, 1832, to Father Van 
Quickenborne and four others. In a history of 
that institution, the following appears: "Dur- 
ing this year, 1827, Father Van Quickenborne 
went on his first missionary excursion to the 
Osage tribe of Indians beyond the borders ot 
Missouri, and at an estimated distance of five 
hundred miles from Florissant. He subsequent- 
ly paid two other visits to this tribe — one in 
1829 and the other in 1830 — with a view of start- 
ing schools and a missionprv residence among 
them." 

This refutes the statement of Kansas histori- 
ans that Father V^an Quickenborne was in Kan- 
sas in 1828, or that he died during that year. 
It likewise shows that he must have" on his first 



FATHER VAN gUICKENBORNE. 165 

trip, visited those members of the tribe farther- 
est west as well as those on the Neosho, if he 
went as far as five hundred miks west from 
Florissant. 

Father DeSmet, in a letter written in 1857, 
tells of Father Van Quickenborne building a 
house and chapel in 1836 among the Kickapoos. 

The history of the St. Louis University also 
contains tlie following: ''Rev. Charles \'an 
Quickenborne, to whom above all others, is due 
the credit of establishing the Jesuit missions in 
Missouri, returned in 1837 from the Kickapoo 
mission started by him the preceding year,^near 
the grounds of the present Ft. Leavenworth, and 
he went to recuperate his strength at Portage 
des Sioux. But the hardships of several years 
spent by him in border-life among the Indians 
had so shattered his constitution that no medi- 
cine and no kind attention could revive him, and 
he died at I'ortage des Sioux en Thursday, Aug- 
ust 17. 1837. His remains were interred on a 
little mound in the garden at St. Stanislaus no- 
vitiate, and they are now surrounded by those 
of nearly all his early companions in ^lissouri. 
A plain slab for a headstone, with a Latin in- 
scription on it, serves both to mark his last rest- 
ing place and to record the main events of his 
very commendable life." 

From the above it will be seen that Father 
\'an Quickenborne did not die in [828. but nine 
years later. 

The history of Kansas also says the marriage 
ceremony recorded by Father Van Quicken- 
borne was the first performed in what is now 
the state of Kansas, and that it was performed 
on the Neosho near where the Mission was later 
established. From Father \'an Quickenbonie's 
own record and other evidences the writer con- 



1 66 FATHER VAN QUiCKKNBORNK. 

eludes it was performed not far from where Ft. 
Scott now stands. 

It is quite certain, however, that Father Van 
Quickenborne paid more than one visit to the 
Osages on the Neosho. In fact one writer says 
he selected the site on which Father Schoen- 
makers afterward located "Osage Mission." 
His last visit to the Osages on the Neosho w-as 
probabl}^ in 1834. 

The Osages owe a deep debt of gratitude to 
this pioneer. He was the first to establish 
schools among them, and one of the first to 
bring the "Gospel of Christ." Civilization, too, 
owes him much. Fie w^as the founder of the 
great St. Louis University, and pointed out the 
way for the establishment of the schools later 
established in Kansas b}^ the Jesuits and by the 
Sisters of Loretto and of the Sacred Heart. 

Father De Smet. the noted missionary, and 
one of the six young Belgians who accoinpani'^d 
Father \'an Quickenborne from Maryland to 
IMissonri. wrote the follownng tribute: 

NeW' York, May 16. 1857. 

This notice of the Rev. Charles \^an Quicken- 
borne has been based on a sketch of his life, in 
the archives of the vice-province of Miissouri* 
and I have inserted some facts from my ow^n 
knowledge. 

Father Charles Felix Van (>iickenborne was 
the first Jesnit who appeared in the great valley 
of the Mississippi after the re-establishment of 
the Society of Jesus. He was a man full of 
zeal for the salvation of souls. The conversion 
of the Indians w^as, in particular, the object of 
his predilection and of his prayers. Long will 
his name be held in benediction, and his mem- 
ory celebrated in the places which had the happi- 



FATHER VAN QUICKEN BORNE. 1 6/ 

ness of receiving the fruits of his numerous la- 
bors and of his truly apostolic virtues. 

He was born in the diocese of Ghent, at Pe teg- 
hem, near Deynze, on the 21st of January, 1788. 
Having commenced his studies at Deynze, he 
went to Ghent to complete them, and there he 
embraced the ecclesiastical state. Van Quicken- 
borne constantly distinguished himself by his 
talents and his application. Ordained priest, he 
was sent to Roulers, to teach belles lettres. He 
remained there four years ; that is to say, until 
the moment that the ecclesiastical seminary was 
closed. A short time after his return to Ghent 
he was sent as vicar into a parish where he had 
the singular happiness, as he frequently said with 
pleasure, of finding Mr. Corselis as Dean. The 
friendship and the distinguished virtue of this 
venerated priest exerted a very salutary influence 
over the mind_of the young vicar, and made an 
impression which was never obliterated. 

About this time the Society of Jesus, in the 
expectation of its approaching re-establishment, 
had prepared a novitiate at Rumbeke. neor Roul- 
ers. There, yielding to the impulse of his zeal. 
Van Ouickenborne presented himself, on the 14th 
of April, 181 5. From that moment he sighed 
for the mission of America. 

Scarcely had he finished his novitiate than he 
obtained from Father Thaddeus Brzozowski. 
then general, the permission to consecrate him- 
self entirely to the desired mission. He embark- 
ed art; Amsterdam. After a navigation fraught 
with perils, he had the happiness of reaching 
America, near the close of the year 1817. 

At the opening of the year 18 19 he was plac- 
ed at the head of the novitiate of Maryland, at 
White Marsh He displayed, in this responsible 
position, all the means which it furnished him 



1 68 FATHER VAN^ OUTCKENBORNE. 

for the salvation of souls. Superior and master 
of novices, he became, at the same time, farmer, 
carpenter, and mason, lie erected a handsome 
stone church on the novitiate grounds, and built' 
a brick one at Annapolis. At the same time he 
attended, as a missionary, a vast district, which 
during several years, he was to evangeUze alone, 
before a companion could second his charitable 
toil. 

His labors were precious for Maryland ; but 
the poverty of that mission was extreme. This 
led the Rt. Rev. Wm. du Bourg, bishop of both 
Louisianas, to request that the novitiate to trans- 
ferred to Missouri. The superior of the mission 
consented to it. Father \^an Quickenborne, 
therefore, set out with two Fathers, seven scho- 
lastic novices, and three coadjutor brothers. Af- 
ter a journey of i,6oo miles, amidst the heat of 
summer, with continual fatigues and privations, 
he arrived near Florissant, where he commence:d 
the novitiate of Saint Stanislaus To form this 
new establishment, he found no other materials 
than those he drew himself from the forests and 
the rocky bed of the river. Rut his ardor for 
labor was daunted by no difficulty' his inflexible 
courage was not to be arrested by any obstacle. 
He was always the first at work. He seemed to 
multiply himself, going from one workman to 
another, exciting and encouraging every one by 
his example far more than by his words. Fn- 
dowed with an admirable patience, and with a 
great spirit of mortification, he was never ex- 
acting to any one but himself, listened only to 
the enthusiasm which inspired him to spend 
himself without reserve, and never knew what 
it was to spare his own health or strength. He 
was near becoming a victim to this self-forget- 
fulness. One day he was working nt the squaring 



FATHER VAN QUICKENBORNE. 169 

of a timber, aided in this labor by a young novice. 
The latter, not yet versed in the work, used his 
axe with an eagerness of which he was far from 
imagining the consequences. Right glad to per- 
ceive the wood yielding under his blows, he only 
thought of multiplying them. One of them, ill- 
directed, struck the Father on the foot. Not- 
withstanding this wound, and the loss of blood, 
the Father did not give up his labor until he 
found himself fainting, then only would he take 
a seat and allow the cut to be bound up with a 
handkerchief The laborers, meanwhile, were 
three miles from the farm, which served them 
as a common residence. The Father endeavor- 
ed to return there on foot ; but, on the way, the 
pain arising from the wound became so violent 
that he was constrained to yield and suffer him- 
self to be put on the horse that had been sent 
for him. A burning fever obliged him to keep 
his bed for several days. As soon as he became 
a little better he desired to return to his work, 
but he must use the horse. Thence arose a new 
accident. The shores of the river are swampy 
in certain places ; the horse sunk into one of 
these mires ; the Father needed all his calm and 
coolness to regain the solid ground ; but all the 
efforts that he made to extricate the poor animal 
proved useless ; he was obliged to see him per- 
ish. These accidents, instead of shaking his con- 
stancy, had the effect of rendering him more 
firmly determined to accomplish his purpose. It 
was surrounded by difficulties, which would have 
appeared insurmountable to a couragfe less heroic, 
that he constructed the novitiate of Florissant, 
aided by his Belgian novices. In 1828 he un- 
dertook the construction of a university at St. 
Louis. He also built, at St. Charles, a stone 
church and a convent for the religious of the 



170 FATHER VAN QUICKENBORNR. 

Sacred Heart, as well as a residence These 
toilsome undertakings, and all the manifold 
cares arising from them, seemed but to freshen. 
his activity: he only finished one enterprise to 
begin a new one. 

Florissant and St. Charles became as many 
rallying-points aroinid which little colonies of 
Catholics and Protestants formed and multiplied. 
The missionaries went in every direction to af- 
ford spiritual aid for so many abandoned souls, 
too often more destitute of the riches of grace 
than of those of earth. Father Van Quicken- 
borne devoted himself to these apostolic courses 
with real gladness of heart ; his consuming zeal 
found the sweetest consolation in the conversions 
which he effected. The Protestants testified the 
greatest respect towards him, altho then (in 1824, 
1825, etc.), as at present, their ministers spared 
no means to fetter his proceedings and arrest 
the effects of his zeal. They depicted our relig- 
ion as an assemblage of absurd and contemptible 
doctrines : tliey drew most revolting portraits of 
the missionary. Among certain of the lower class- 
es, they even went so far as to make him a monster 
with cloven feet, horns on his head, and armed 
with claws. Hence, when the Father appeared 
among them for the first time, these poor peo- 
ple flocked around, scanned him attentively from 
head to foot, and finding him like other men, they 
immediately listened to him, and were converted 
without the least difiiculty. 

In one of his rides, there happened to him one 
of those singular facts in which he recognized 
more particularly the action of divine Provi- 
dence. Arrived at a place where the road 
branched, he intended taking the more beaten 
road, but bis horse resisted. In vain be urged 
him to obey ; the animal prevailed over the mts- 



FATHER VAN QUICKENBORNE. I/I 

sionary, and darted rapidly into the other and less 
agreeable way. The route crossed a forest. 
Night came on. and he found himself obliged to 
stop at a little cottage, as poor as solitary, and, 
as it were, lost by its little dimensions in the 
towering wood. The Father met with a cold 
reception. As they perceived he was a mission- 
ary priest a great reserve was maintained. Sup- 
per was indeed served for him. but they spoke 
with him in a timid and embarrassed manner. 
He unrlerstood the cause. In the corner of the 
room lay a sick child with a fever, and in ex- 
tremities. The missionary asked the distracted 
mother whether her boy had received baptism. 
On being answered in the negative, he began to 
explain the necessity of this sacrament. *'God 
Himself sent me here," added he, "to open to 
your child the portals of heaven ; you must hast- 
en, for soon he will be no more!" The mother 
replied disdainfully, that she would never suffer 
a priest to baptise her son ; that she did not be- 
lieve in ba]>tism. It was in vain to insist. As 
the child was consumed with thirst the Father, 
feigning to renounce his first idea, very kindly 
attempted to relieve it from time to time, by 
giving it a little water, and at a moment when the 
mother, occupied with other things, turned her 
attention elsewhere, he baptised the child, who 
soared to heaven a few minutes after. 

A short time after this, passing near the cot- 
tage, the Father calle-l again and asked to see 
the mother of the child. This time lie found her 
affable and obliging. She evinced a very great 
desire to have some information conceming the 
Catholic religion. Soon she cvowed that all she 
had heard on the necessity of bc^ntism troubled 
her, and that she deplored it as a misfortune that 
she had der- rived her son of so "reat a o'race. 



172 FAThTKR VAN OUICKENBORNE. 

''Console yourself," said the kind Father, "your 
son received baptism, and he now enjoys the 
beatific vision. He now intercedes for you with 
God. Receive baptism, and you will one day 
share his happiness." These words produced 
the desired effect. The woman was converted, 
and, with her whok family, received baptism. 
Such- were the blessed consequences of the ob- 
stinacy of the horse. Strangely enough, on the 
day after, he follov/ed the other road without 
any show of resistance. 

The salvation of souls was., with this apostolic 
man, an ever-present thought, desire, and neces- 
sity. He had also a vvonderful art in seizing 
occasions and profiting by circumstances. He 
understood also, by his conversations and nar- 
ratives, how to communicate to others the zeal 
with which he was inflamed. They were capti- 
vated, so that those who could not assist him by 
their labors, pledged themselves, at least, to 
assist him by their prayers. Thus, in order to 
engage his novices to pray with e^rdor, he grant- 
ed them a little feast each time that the con- 
versions attained a certain number. 

The Protestants, we have already observed* 
m?de efforts to throw obstacles in the path of 
the man of God, but he had to struggle especial- 
ly with the Methodists. One day he gave a 
severe blow to the influence of these noisy secta- 
rians. Being on a mission, he heard that they 
were to hold a meeting in a place named to him. 
For a long time he had sought an occasion of 
coming in contact with them. He. therefore, set 
out for the appointed locality, and endeavored 
to attract there all the Protestants that he could 
find. The Methodists were holding their meet- 
ing in the church. The Father, on his arrival, 
found an immense concour.-e. His religious 



FATHER VAN gUlCKENBORNE. I73 

habit and his venerable air, at first excited a pro- 
found astonishment in men, most of whom saw 
a priest for the first time. In their amazement, 
several cried not: "What does that queer man 
want?" The Father ansv/ered modestly, that he 
was desirous of hearing from their mouths some 
explanations on certain important points which 
concerned religion, and begged they would allow 
him to propose a few questions. Then, profiting 
by the consent which they le^ave him. he began 
to interrogate them on the essential points that 
distinguished the true from the erroneous doc- 
trines. The ministers wish to reply, but no two 
answer in the same manner. They refute them- 
selves, and contradict each other. The Father 
insists ; they disagree. The confusion only in- 
creases, to the great scandal of the auditors, who 
thus have an evidence that those ministers, so 
habituated to despise the priests in their absence, 
are incapable of replying to them Vvdien they meet 
them. The Father left these men disputing (to^ 
their shame and confusion), and went to make a 
discourse in the open air on the unity, sanctity, 
catholicity, and apostolicity of the Roman Catho- 
lic Church, which all sects and all their ministers 
united can never shake. Such astonishing bold- 
ness, the talents of the preacher, and the solidity 
of his reasonings, conciliated the attention an.d 
respect of all. He had gained a signal victory 
over the ministers of falsehood and calumny. 
During a lor\g period, their discourses had no 
echo in that place. Every time tliat the Father 
returned there, they opened the hotel of the 
town to Irrm. that he might celebrate Mass and 
preach. His sermons, every tunc, produced nu- 
merous conversions. 

On entering the apostolical career, Father \^an 
Quickenborne enjoyed a robust health ; but the 



174 FATHER VAN QUICKENBORNE. 

severe labors and incessant hardships of the 
apostolale undermined his strength. However, 
his infirmities never cooled the ardor of his zeal. 
His charity and his confidence in God seemed 
to supply the weakness of nature, and God> 
more than once, seconded his efforts in a marvel- 
ous manner. One day, while he was retained in 
his bed by a severe, and even serious malady, 
they came to tell him that a poor Catholic, dying, 
a hundred miles off» implored the comforts of 
religion. To the amazement of all, he caused 
a cart to be prepared, ordered his matress to be 
laid in it, and taking with him the Blessed Sacra- 
ment and the oils he set forth, after giving to 
them all his blessing. All received it, as tho it 
would be the last. They followed their kina 
Father with fears and regrets. After a few days 
he reappeared among them quite triumphant; he 
had administered to the sick man, and was him- 
self perfectly cured. 

His apostolical zeal inclined him above all to 
those places in which he saw more spiritual pri- 
vations and more neglect. He ardently desired 
to go and evangelize the poor Indians, wander- 
ing in the wilderness. He made several excur- 
sions among the Osages and the lowas, and each 
time the most precious fruits met his expecta- 
tion. In 1836, he succeeded, by soliciting, in 
collecting some money in the different States. 
He at once commenced a fixed residence among 
the Kickapoos ; already he had built a house and 
chapel. He had visited the neighboring tribes, 
and formed the most extensive and solid de- 
signs for their conversion, when he was sudden- 
ly arrested in the midst of his enterprises. The 
Superior of the Missions in Missouri, on paying 
the visit to his missionaries, found the Father so 
feeble in health that he judged him incapable 



FATHER VAN OUICKENBORNE. 175 

of continuing his labors. As soon as the 
Superior returned to St. Louis he recalled him. 

Faithful to the voice of obedience, Father Van 
Quickenborne quitted his cherished mission. He 
reappeared at St. Louis with a cheerful counte- 
nance, reposed there some days, went to make 
his annual retreat at the novitiate, and then set 
out for St. Charles, so as to go thence to the 
little parish of St. Francis in the Portage des 
Sioux. There he was to lead a quiet life, assist- 
ed by one coadjutor brother, and only bestow- 
ing his cares on this little flock. But is there any 
hope of limiting his zealous efforts? He set 
himself at once to build a church in the neigh- 
borhood, and he was desirous of converting a 
certain number of Protestant families. These 
labors were absorbing his whole attention, when 
he was attacked by a bilious fever which carried 
him off in some days, resisting all the cares of an 
experienced physician. 

Father Pallaison assited him in the hour of 
death. The man of God was calm until the end, 
and filled with devout resignation. He received 
the last sacraments with a deep and touching 
piety, and saw death approaching without fear. 
About twenty minutes before expiring, preceiv- 
ing his last moment, "Pray for me/' said he to 
the Father and Brother who were near him. 
These were his last words. He expired without 
agony. His death took place on the 17th of 
August, 1837. His body, followed by crowds, 
was borne to St. Charles, and interred with much 
pomp in the middle of the graveyard, at the foot 
of the cross. Catholics and Protestants assisted 
at his funeral, for he was beloved by all. 

The lengthened labors of this apostolic man, 
and the churches which he built, suffice to per- 



176 FATHER VAN QUICKENBORNE. 

pctuate his memory, were it not already deeply 
eneraven in the hearts of all who knew him. 

P. J. De Smet, S. J. 



CHAPTER XIL 

FATHER VERREYDT. 

Hgzv brave and earnest the pioneers must have 
been to follow the trail of the red man and blaze 
the way for ns to come in. — JESSK LEi^ Beck. 

Father Felix L. X'erreydt was born in Belgium 
Feb. i8, 1798. He was the immediate predecessor 
of Father Schoenmakers as missionary among the 
Osages, and was one of the six young men who 
came to America fronn Belgium in 1820 with 
Rev. Fr. Nerinckx and entered the novitiate at 
White Marsh, Al^ryland. He v. as also one of 
the six young men who volunteered to accom- 
pany Father \'an Qnickenborne to INlissouri in 
i'823, and he helped to establish the Jesuits at 
Florissant, Mo., their first home west of the 
Mississippi river. During the first few months 
of their stay at Florissant the eight Jesuits were 
all lodged in one log cabin. Their beds were 
"pallets on the floor." Fr. V'erreydt helped to 
cut the logs and erect some of the first buildings 
at Florissant. He had not com.pl-eted his studies 
for the ]:'nesthood at that time, but he d'-d physi- 
cal labor -luring the day and studied his books 
at tiight. He also devoted part of his tMue to 
teaching the Indian children. 

Father "^/crreydt was ordained priest at Floris- 
sant in September, 1827, by Bishop Rosati^ and 
was assigned to the church at St. Charles. Later 
he was transferred to Portage des Sioux, near 
St. Foil is, where in T834 he built a brick church. 
(^77) 



178 FATilKR VKKRKYDT. 

Some lime before 1837 he and Father Chris- 
tion Hcvcken were -located at a mission among 
the Kickapoos near Ft. Leavenworth. 

On August 29, 184T, he joined the Jesuit 
cok)ny at St. Mary's Mission on Sugar Creek 
where the town of Centerville. Kansas, now 
stands. There he organized an anti-Hquor bri- 
gade for the protection of the Indians against 
hquor peddlers. The brigade kept a sharp out- 
look for any liquor that might enter the village 
and destroyed it. The brigade did effective work 
for a number of vears. 

In November, 1847. '^^ selected the site on 
the Kaw river where St. Mary's, Kansas, now 
stands, as the future location of the colony, and 
on June 20^ 1848, the spot on which St. Mary's 
College now stands was chosen by him for the 
Indian girls school under charge of the Sisters 
of Sacred Heart, and on September 7. 1848, 
Father Wrreydt led the little band i:no the build- 
ing which had been erected for the school. The 
buildings for the boys' school were erected near 
by that winter, and from these grew St. Mary's 
College. Tt was at this place that Bishop Miege 
and Father Ponziglione arrived May 24. 1851, on 
their way from St. Louis to Osage IvTisston. They 
stopped for about a month before proceeding to 
the home of the Osages. 

The records of St. Francis' clnuTh at St. 
Paul, show two trips lO the Osages on the Neo- 
sho by Father Wrreydt. one in 1843 ^"^ ^^^ 
other in 1846. On each trip he reported a num- 
ber of baptisms. After the missionary work in 
the west was turned over to Father Schoen- 
makers he was /given charge:, in eastern Miss- 
ouri in T850 and labored there for years, part of 
the time at St. Charles and Portage des Sioux, 
and part of the time at the St. Louis Univerritv. 



FATHER VERREYDT. 1 79 

He outlived all of those who were his compan- 
ions to .-Vmerica from Belgium, and was more 
than four score years old when he died at the 
home of the Jesuit Fathers, at St. Xavier's Col- 
lege, in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March i, 1883. He 
was buried in the Jesuit cemeters' near the scene 
of his early labors at St. Stanislaus Seminary, 
Florissant, Mo. 

' Father \'erreydt was a zealous priest, a tire- 
less worker, and a man of marked ability. Truly 
he left "footprints on the sands of time," in 
Kansas that wnll not be obliterated for ages yet 
to come. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FATHER JOHN SCH0ENMAKER8. 

"Unto a task of seeming loiviiness — 
Yet God-like in its purpose, he went forth 
To bind the broken spirit — to pluck back 
The heathen from the worship of the planets — 
To place the spiritual image of God, 
Holy and just and true, before the eye 
Of the dark-minded Indian — and unseal 
The holy pages of the Book of Life." 

— Adopted From Whittier. 

Father John Schoenmakers, S. J., has been 
properly termed the "Father of Osage Mission." 
He might as truly be termed the "Father of 
Civilization in Southeastern Kansas," for he 
formed the first permanent white settlement ini 
what is now vSoutheastem Kansas, but at that 
time known as the Western Indian Territory. 
It is true he was not the first white person to 
visit the region of the Neosho, but those preced- 
in^g him were either traders or transitory mission- 
aries who remained but a short time in one place. 
It was like going out of civilization for Father 
Schoenmakers and his httle party to come into 
this western country, hundreds of miles from a 
railroad or a town, where there were few con- 
veniences of life, where the ways of the 
white man were little known and where the dark- 
skinned rovers of the plains held sway. But 

"Since the days Loyola lived and tatiqht 
(r8o) 



FATHER SCHOEN MAKERS. l8l 

There has not blown a wind that did not fill 
Some whitened sail, hearing to distant lands 
His earnest sons, to plant the seeds of faith." 

On the 20th of November, 1807, there was 
born in an humble home in the town of Waspick, 
Langstaai. province of North Brabant, in Hol- 
land, John Schoenmakers, son of Henry Schoen- 
makers and I^etronella Kamp, both natives of 
W^aspick. In his youth he was a student at the 
DeNef school in Tournout, Belgium. Mr. De- 
Nef was a layman but was extremely interested 
in the American missions and John Schoenmak- 
ers was only one of the many young men whom 
he influenced to prepare for American mission- 
ary labors. John Schoenmakers was ordained 
as a secular priest in 1833. celebrating his first 
Mass April 16, 1833. He was thoroly imbued 
with the desire to join the Jesuits and to become 
a missionary among the American Indians, and 
to carry out that idea he set sail for New York 
as soon as he could get his affairs arranged, ar- 
riving in that city on Christmas day, 1833. H^e 
proceeded without delay to Georgetovrn, Mary- 
land, where he joined the Jesuit order, January 
16, 1834. In June, 1834, he was sent to Floris- 
sant to join Father Van Ouickenborne's little 
colony. At Florissant he had for his companions 
Father De Smet, Father Verreydt and others 
who soon after became noted missionaries, some 
of them of world wide fame. Soon after, he 
was given a position at the St. Louis I University. 
This place he held until 1837, when he was made 
superior of the Jesuit colony which then resided 
in that part of North St. Louis called Ivowell. 
at that time open country. It was also known 
as the ''College Farm" and was used for a sum- 
mer retreat for the Jesuits. At the time he was 



1 82 PATIIKR SCHOl^N MAKERS. 

selected to take charge of the mission to be 
established among the Osages on the Neosho, he 
was pastor of the church of St. Charles Bor- 
romeo at St. Charles, Mo. 

LKAVKS FOR THE OSAGKS. 

Father Schoenmakers" first trip to the land of 
the Osages, the scene of his future labors, was 
made in 1846, to inspect the buildings that were 
being erected under direction of Mkjor Harvey, 
and to make arrangements for the establishment 
of his permanent home, after which he returned 
to St. lyouis for supphes and to await the com- 
pletion of the buildings. 

On -Xpril 7, 1847, Father Schoenmakers, ac- 
companied by Father Bax and three Jesuit lay- 
brothers, left St. Louis, on his return to the 
Osages. They traveled up the Mississippi and 
Missouri rivers by boat to Westport, near Kan- 
sas City and from there made their way to the 
Neosho by wagon. Instead of the fast horses or 
the automobiles driven by the people of to-day, 
Father Schoenmakers had two or three teams of 
oxen which made the trip thru the then wild and 
uninhabited country a long and tedious one. 
There were no houses where he might pass the 
night, and when he and his little company lay 
down at night for a little rest there was no shel- 
ter over them, save one, the broad canopy of 
heaven. It required seven days to make the 
journey from Westport to the Neosho, after 
they had already been two weeks getting from 
St. Louis to Westport. They arrived on the 
scene of their future labors, April 28 or 29, 1847. 
and took up their abode near Flatrock creek not 
far from where St. Francis' church, St. Paul, 
Kansas, now stands. The Osages had a small 



FATHER SCHOENMAKKRS. 183 

town of about twenty-live wigwams near by 
and they gave the "black gowns" a most cordial 
welcome. They had been awaiting Father 
Schoenmakers promised return, and were filled 
with joy when the promise was fulfilled. From 
that time on he was their friend, their teacher, 
their counsellor, and their spiritual adviser. 



OPKXS THE SCHOOL. 

Father Schoenmakers lost no time after his 
arrival at the Mission. He and his associates 
began active preparation for opening the schooL 
and for looking after the spiritual needs of the 
Osages. The first official act recorded on the 
church records after their arrival was the bap- 
tism of Sara, daughter of Shoenka, by Father 
Bax on May 2. 1847. The first baptism by Fath- 
er Schoenmakers recorded was preformed on 
May 9, 1847, Ftein Shoenka beiiifg the person 
baptised by him. 

Immediately upon his arrival Father Schoen- 
makers set about to make as comfortable as pos- 
sible the rude quarters furnished by the govern- 
ment for the school and the home of himself and 
his associate workers. There were no whites 
among the Osages then except a few roving trad- 
ers. Skilled laborers could not be employed, 
hence there was much manual labor to be per- 
formed by Father Schoenmakers and the three 
brothers who had accompanied him west. But 
they set about it with a will and on May 9, 1847, 
enrolled Peter Brond as the first pupil 'in the 
>school. Louis Louison was the second. The 
school was called the Osage Manual Laboring 
school and was formally opened on May 10,, 1847, 
and by the end of the month fourteen were en- 



184 fathh:r schoenmakers. 

roiled. The total enrollment the lirst year was 
twenty-eight. 

The school had many handicaps, one of the 
greatest being the buildings. The government 
had planned well, and had appropriated a suffi- 
cient sum of money from the funds which the In- 
dians had on deposit with the govenniient, but 
some of those whose duty it was to construct the 
builidings and put them in proper condition failed 
miserably to perform that duty faithfully. 

Father Bax made a report in writing to Extra- 
ordinary Agent, Mr. Devereaux, which tells of 
these things. The copy of the report on tlie 
church records is not dated, but the text indicates 
it was written in the fall of 1847. ^^ i=^ as fol- 
lows : 

"The houses destined for the Mission are un- 
fit to be inhabited. They are unfinished, the 
plastering of the rooms has fallen off. some of 
the chimnics have fallen in. the joining of the 
walls are fallen out. Mr. Harvey directed to 
have both of the houses weatherboarded which 
has not been done, the fence around the houses 
destined for the education of the females is un- 
fit, not preventing the approach of tlie Indians. 
The buildirigs erected are too small to accommo- 
date the children, so it is of the utmost necessity 
to have adjoining buildings erected. 

"We opened the school on the loth of NTay 
and began with 13 boys and continued until Aug- 
ust v/hen three more came, about tlie loth of 
October two more and before they will go on the 
summer hunt about six or eight will come in. 
Many hav^ given notice of sending in thc?r boys 
at that period. There is no doubt but before 
winter approaches more will present themselves 
as we are able to take care of them according to 



FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. 18$ 

contract. The present boys surpass in every 
respect bv far our expectations. 

"We desire very much the government would 
encourage the Osages their beginning to culti- 
vate the soil, for unless they change their man- 
ner of living we can expect but little fruit from 
the education we endeavor to impart to their chil- 
dren. Several of the Indians begin to see this 
as the buffalo becomes more scarce every year. 
Still the traders encourage them very much for 
hunting so that we fear some will never change 
as long as they can find any game. Still we hope 
that the means the government has aiforded for 
education of the females will hasten their man- 
ner of living." 

Father Schoenmakers, as head of the institu- 
tion, devoted bis greatest energies to the schools. 
His contract with the government held him re- 
sponsible for the school for the girls as well as 
the one for the boys and altho tlie girls' school 
was under charge of able Sisters, it nevertheless 
required considerable attention from him. The 
scarcity of teachers in the school for boys as 
well as the shortage of assistants in the mission- 
ary work made h''s duties very numerous and 
rather strenuous. Supplies had to be obtained 
from, a great distance and v/ere weeks on the 
road. In a-^Kdition to the usual hardships of 
pioneer life with insufficient and poor quarters, 
came the drouth, the grassnoppers. the scourge 
of disease, the vrar and many other perplexing 
and troublesome propositions which cause one 
of this day to v/onder how he got along so well. 
Nevertheless his schools were kept open and 
made o:ood progress except for a short period 
during" the measles epidemic in 1852 and again 
during the early part of the civil war. 

In the records kept "Father Scho»enmakers 



l86 FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. 

says: "The branches hitherto taught are per- 
formed in Eno^Hsh, viz; spelling, reading, arith- 
metic, .singing, Christian morality, agriculture 
and domestic economy." 

^Yhen the Kansas department of education a 
few years ago added agriculture to the course of 
study required in the public schools of the state, 
il was regarded as an innovation, something en- 
tirely new, yet this was one of the regular branch- 
es taught in the school established among the 
OsageS: even before Kansas was organized as 
a territory. Much the same may be said of 
domestic economy. Father Schoenmakers taught 
those branches which he believed would be most 
valuable to his pupils. There were then no 
school laws, no prescribed course of study, no 
school boards to dictate to him. 

In the spring of 1852 a Quapaw Indian came 
to visit the school. Soon after his arrival he 
became sick and soon developed a case of meas- 
les. This started an epidemic of the disease 
that s])read all over the Osage Nation and caused 
many deaths. Only one pupil in the school es- 
caped the disease. This temporarily closed the 
school. Caring for the sick also added to the 
burdens of the Mission, and bi ought on a most 
trying time. Father Bax worked most faithfully 
among the Indians in trying to allay the ravages 
of the disease, giving little heed to himself. As 
a result he contracted an ailment from which he 
died a few weeks later. 

OIWPAW INDIANS ADMTTTKD TO SCHOOL. 

Father Bax did some work among the Qiua- 
paw Indians and won their friendship to such 
an extent that they sought admission for their 
children to the school. The first baptism of a 



FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. iS/ 

Quapaw recorder by the Fathers at the Mission 
was performed September i8, 1848. Fifty-three 
Quapaws were baptised in 1850. Application 
for admission to the school- was made soon after, 
but as the funds used to pay the expenses of the 
school were taken by the government from Osage 
money in the U. S. treasury, Father Schoenmak- 
ers required the Quapaws to get the consent of 
the Osages before admitting the children. 

The following letter written by Father Schoen- 
makers to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
tells of the negotiations : 

Osage Manual School, 20th of May, 1853. 
To The Convmissipner of Indian Affairs^ 
Washington, D. C, 
Honorable Sir: In the supposition that a pe- 
tition has been handed to your honor, signed by 
the Quapaw Chiefs, on the 15th of May, 1853, 
and approved by the agent, W. T. Morrow, 1 
take the freedom to write to you the following 
lines, being myself principally concerned in the 
good results that may be effected by the grant 
of said petition. At the advice of our agent, I 
was prevailed upon to yield to the earnest re- 
quests of the Quapaw Chiefs and have taken, on 
the 28tli of Feb.. 1853, ten Quapaw children 
into the Osage school, being myself witness that 
the Quapaw chiefs have obtained in council, thru 
the medium of the agent, the unanimous consent 
and approbation of the Osage Chiefs. It was 
not expected that many of the Quapaw parents 
would have consented to send their children 
some 60 or 70 miles from home, the above men- 
tioned tQw Quapaw children being perfectly sat- 
isfied at the Osage school have caused the num- 
ber of Quapaw pupils to increase to seventeen 



1 88 FATHER SC I lOKN MAKERS. 

and seven giris, there being on this 20th day of 
May, 24 Quapaw children at the Osage school. 

However great my desire may be of educating 
said children, unless i receive $55 per annum for 
board and tuition of each child I could not con- 
tinue their education, having learned from six 
years' experience that the Osage school has cost 
me $800 per year extra of the education fund at 
$55 per annum for each child. Whilst I am wait- 
ing for a favorable answer to the above named 
petition of the Ouapaw Chiefs I will in the mean- 
time receive no other Ouapaw children into the 
Osage school, expecting that the honorable gen- 
tlemen of tlie Indian department will authorize 
me to give education to upwaids of 30 Ouapaw 
youths at $55 per annum for each pupil. 

T will send this, my letter, to the Indian agent 
that it may be signed by him and that it may be 
knoViU to all concerned that T have no unjust 
views or self interests, but that I wish to satisfy 
the desire of said Ouapaw Indians. 

y. SCHOIiNMAK!"RS, S. J. 
DROUTHS AND GRASSHOPPERS. 

The small allowance of $55 per year for board, 
and schooling of each pupil, made by the gov- 
ernment was not sufficient to pay the running 
expenses of the school, and agriculture had to 
be taken up to supply some of the wants of the 
community. This did very well until t8';4 which 
was an exceptionally dry vear and very little was 
produf^ed. This necessitated the purchase of all 
supplies used, which because of the drv season 
were not easily obtained at moderate prices. In 
his distress Father Schoenmakers appealed to 
the !?overnment for help in the following letter : 




\r 



^J 




REV. JOHN SCHOENMAKERS, S. J. 



FATHER SCHUEN MAKERS. 189 

Osage Nation, ist of October, 1854. 
To The Honorable Secretary of the Interior: 

The great failure of crops in the vicinity of 
the Osage xVIanual Labor School places us in 
the necessity of calling upon the generosity of 
the government. 

The usual allowance of ^55 per annum for 
board and tuition and clothing of Osage and 
Quapaw children are insufficient to defray the 
extraordinary expenses of the running year. 
Our loss will amount to some $1,500, not count- 
ing our services. As we do not suppose that it is 
the intention of our generous government that 
her officers should sustain similar losses, we 
hope that you will assist us by presentii.g, if 
needs be, this petition to congress either your- 
self or thru your means by some competent per- 
son. 

I certify that the above statement is correct 
and that the loss will come to no less than $1,500, 

T. SCHOKNMAKERS. S. J., 

Supt. of O. M. L. School. 

Osage Council Ground, 

September 30, 1854. 

I do most certainly believe that the above 

statement is reasonable and hope something may 

be done for the relief of the proprietors of the 

Osage School. 

Andrew^ J- Dorn. 
U. S. Neosho Div. Agt. 

In response to the appeal the government in- 
creased the allowance $18.95 f^^ each pupil for 
that year and the school was again movino- along 
when grasshoppers destroyed the crops in 1855. 
Two crop failures in succession brought on 
most trvin? conditions, and had it not been lot 



190 fathe;r schoenmakers. 

outside help in addition to the increased allow- 
ance of the government the school would have 
been obliged to close. The Indians too were suf- 
fering and were calling at the Mission for help. 
In the fall of 1855 the "Mission" was in dire 
circumstances when Father Schoenmakers ap- 
pealed to the government to have the increased 
allowance continued for a longer period. At this 
time he wrote the following letter to the com- 
missioner of Indian affairs, which not only tells 
of the troubles that beset the ''Mission," but 
gives a description of the buildings : 

Osage Manual Labor School, 
ist of October, 1855. 
Hon Gko. W. Merripenny, 

Commissi oner of Indian Affairs. 
It will be seen that I have charged for board 
and tuition of Osage and Ouapaw children at 
the increased rate of three preceeding quarters, 
my reason for so doing is a total failure of our 
crops caused by the grasshoppers. Provisions 
such as corn meal, flour, meat. etc.. demand up 
to this moment high prices. I gratefully ac- 
knowledge my obligation to your honor for the 
increased allowance at a rate of v1^ 18.95 P^^ ^^' 
num for each child, made at my request in letter 
of October, 1854, but so exhorbitant have been 
the expenses of our school during the last and 
current years that before the end of 1854, I 
had been obliged to call upon my superior for 
the amount of $1,000, and again in the beginning 
of T854, I received other donations of $272 to 
support our schools. This will not seem sur- 
prising if T remark the fact that in ordinary 
years the allowance of $55 per annum for each 
child has merely sufficed to defray the expenses 
of the school. My medicine bills amount yearly 



FATHER SCHOKNMAKERS. I9I 

to upwards of ^loo. Add to this the indispen- 
sible obligation of feeding the Indians and of 
making them donations for their daily wants, 
thereby to gain their hearts, or at least to gain 
their children for civilization. 

Since we commenced the Osage School in 
1847, but little has been paid out to hired hands. 
However it has been necessary to supply a year- 
ly deficit of about $800. I must own it would 
have been much more encouraging to us if we 
had been enabled to have used the $6,400 in as- 
sisting our young people after leaving school 
and making our own domestic life more comfort- 
able. 

The female department counts forty pupils 
and eight female attendants. For the accommoda- 
tion of this large number, they have one com- 
mon refectory 20 by 18 feet, one play room 20 
by 22 feet, and one common dormitory for chil- 
dren 20 by 22 feet, 6 r-2 feet high. The play and 
refectory rooms also serve as class rooms. Above 
the refectory are also two small rooms 61-2 feet 
hisrh, the one serves as a wardrobe and the 
other a sick room. Besides a kitchen 14 by 14 
feet and a common parlor, which as late as 1851 
served as a dining room of the ladies, at which 
time a one-story and a half log house was built 
for their private use. 

The male department is better accommodated. 
The government made an allowance in 1849 of 
$1,000 with which amount a two-story log house 
50 by 25 feet was built in 1850 and has ever 
since been occupied bv the boys and two of the 
teachers. The bake, wash, store house for the 
ladies, the weatherboarding of buildings, a well 
and the above one and a half story house for the 
ladies were all made at our own expenses in 1850 
and i8qi. Permit me to recall vour attention to 



192 l-ATHER SCnOEH|AK^^^^ -£ye^.. 

a letter of the honorable jL^Jarthy. Cr^^^ 
H. Harvey, superintendent, April 25, 1845, "^ 
agree with you that as the measure is one of 
experiment among this tribe no more money 
should be expended than will enable us to give 
it a fair trial. Your recommendation therefore 
as contained in your letter of the 20th of Decem- 
ber, last, that two houses wdth the necessary out- 
buildin.^s of sufficient dimens'ons to accommo- 
date say twenty pupils each with the teachers 
.that will be employed, is approved." Most re- 
spectfully your obedient servant, 

John Schoknmakkrs, S. J. 

in response to the above appeal the govern- 
ment extended the increased allowance of $18.95 
per annum for each child to cover the temi of 
school ending Jnne 3. 1855, but this fell far 
short of expenses, and Rt. Rev. Bishop Miege 
and others sent donations amounting to $1,300, 
by the aid of which the school w^as kept open. 
Crop conditions were better during the next few 
years and the schools began to prosper again, 
and the number of pupils was increased. In 
i860 there was another crop failure and more 
grasshoppers, but the school was getting on a 
firmer basis and was not so badly afflicted as in 
1854 and T855. 

TROT^BLKS DURING THIt WAR. 

The coming on of the civil war brought the 
greatest affliction on the school in this period : 
in fact the school was obliged to close for a time 
and the Fathers were obliged to seek refuge 
northward at St. Mary's. Father Schoenmakers 
was an ardent supporter of the north and suc- 
ceeded in keeping most of the Osages loyal to 



I 



FATHER SCHOENMx\KERS. I93 

the Union. Most of the Osage boys in the 
school that had arrived at a sufficient age, en- 
hsted in the Union army. Being located so near 
the eastern and southern borders of the state, 
scouting parties of southern sympathizers and 
guerillas were frequently seen in the region of 
the Mission. Capt. John Mathews, who then 
resided near the present site of Oswego, was 
leader of one of these bands. He had previous- 
ly been a good friend of the Fathers and had 
•sent his boys to' be educated at the Mission 
school. He was a white man but his wife was 
an Osage woman. He hoped by his relation 
to the tribe to be able to induce them to join 
with the south, but he found a strong objector 
in the person of Father Schoenmakers who was 
held in greater respect than he was, by the Osag- 
e.^. This angered Mathews and he gathered a 
force of men to capture Father Schoenmakers 
and break up the Miss-on. One of the Mathews 
boys who had attended school at the Mission, 
was so attached to the place and held its mem- 
ory so sacred he could not bear to have any harm 
come to it, even at the hands of his own father, 
and at the risk of his life, he notified Father 
Schoenmakers, who with his associates made a 
hurried, flight northward during a dark and 
rainy nir^dit. Providence, however, intervened 
and sent such a rain that when Capt. Mathews 
and liis company reached Flatrock creek, the 
stream was not passable and he was obliged to 
give up his evil designs for the present and re- 
turn home. 

Sanuiel J. Gillmore. an Indian, trader and mer- 
chant, living near the Mission, who later occu- 
pied the famous ''Castle Thunder" in the west 
part of the town of Mission, was related to 
Mathews n^v marriag:e. but be was an ardent, 



194 FATHliR SCHuK.N MAKERS. 

outspoken Unionist. This angered Mathews and 
added to his fury, so Gillmore sought safety 
by moving to Humboldt. In 1876, Col. Olin 
Thurston wrote some interesting^ "Reminiscen- 
ces of Early Days," for publication in the Hum- 
boldt Union, from which the following is taken: 

"Partisans of the South were active among 
the Indians in the south part of the State. A 
good many of the most intelligent and active 
half-breeds had from the tirst been in the inter- 
est of the South. Major Dorn, then agent of 
the Osages, was a graduate of West Point, and 
a rebel. The major, perhaps, never attempted 
to use his influence with the Indians in inducing 
them to take arms against the Union, or to ex- 
cite them to blood on the border. Before ac- 
tive hostilities commenced the major abandoned 
his post as agent, for the position of quarter-mas- 
ter in the rebel service. The Mathews family of 
half-breeds were all rebels, and were active in 
opposing all measures of the Federal Govern- 
ment. The Fathers at Osage Mission, from the 
very first, used their long experience and great 
influence with the Indians to keep them loyal to 
the Government, and to the efforts of these good 
Fathers we are indebted for the loyalty of these 
Indians during the war. more than to any other 
cause. 

"The Mathews family, referred to above, had, 
in the fall of 1861, residing at Osage Mission, 
a brother-in-law named Samuel Gillmore. Gill- 
more was a good, honest, inoffensive man. en- 
gaged in trading with the Osage Indians. Math- 
ews had some interest in the trading house. Gill- 
more was a Union man. The organization of an 
army at Fort Scott, and one at Neosho progress- 
ed, and it was evident that sooner or later the 



fathe:r schoenmakers. 195 

two must meet. Foraging and scouting parties 
of either army made frequent raids, and Gill- 
more felt that he was unsafe at Osage Mission, 
and he determined to change his location. He 
determined to move to some point further north. 
Particular reference is made to this man Gill- 
more, and his movements, not on accourt of the 
man or his business, but because they produced 
results of a good deal of importance. It is said 
that the battle of Waterloo was lost because 
Napoleon was not aware of a certain ditch, lying 
between his lines and those of Wellington. Hum- 
boldt probably never would have been sacked 
and burned had it not been for the location of 
this man Gillmore, who did not consider him- 
self safe at the Mission. He gathered his teams 
and wagons, loaded in his ware and merchandise 
very quietly, and with his family started north. 
It was his intention to locate some distance north 
of the south line of the state. On his way a 
short distance north of Humboldt he met — un- 
fortunately for him and for Humboldt — a gen- 
tleman who induced him to return to Humboldt 
and open out his stock of goods, and go into 
business. This was some time in August or 
September, i86t. One of the Mathews boys, it 
appears, had an interest in these goods. Gill- 
more's wife was a sister of the Mathews boys." 

Col. Thurston at the begining of the war, had 
raised a regiment of soldiers from among the 
men of Allen and Woodson counties. This was 
known as the Seventh Kansas regiment and was 
under the command of Gen J. H. Lane. Whik 
these men were away with Lane Capt. Mathews 
led a band of Missouri guerillas, Cherokee In- 
dians and Osage half-breeds into Humboldt on 
September 8, t86t. Mathiews wanted revenge 



196 fathe:r schoe:nmake;rs. 

on Gillmore and Father Schoenmakers and he 
proceeded to sack the town of Humboldt, carry- 
ing off all the valuables he could find in the 
dwellings and stores. A home guard had pre- 
viously been organized among the old men and 
boys. These were hastily summoned, and under 
command of Col. J. G. Blunt went in pursuit of 
the raiders, followed them to Osweeo where 
Mathews was killed. Humboldt v/as raided again 
on October 14. t86i,, by a band under Col. Tal- 
bot, and much of the town burned. Chief Big 
Bear, w-ho is buried in the cemetery at the "Mis- 
sion," had a hand in this second raid. 

Father SclToenmakers returned to the Mission 
in M,'arch, 1862, and resumed his school work. 
Gillmore also returned later and became post- 
master in 1864, of Catholic Mission, as the town 
was tlien called. 

Three times after Father Schoenmakers re- 
turned to the Mission, Southern sympathizers 
invaded the Mission with evil intent. Each time 
they were persuaded to desist by the most earn- 
est efforts of the good Fathers and by the help 
of Gen. Blair, Col. Thurston and others. 

The troubles of the war period were partly 
told by Father Schoenmakers in a speech he 
made on the occasion of the opening of the Osage 
Mission Grist Mill on Flatrock, vSeptember 24, 
1870. and published in the Leavenworth C'^m- 
ynerciol. The speech was as follo\vs : 

*T)n Christmas day, 1833, T landed on Ameri- 
can soil at New York, being a young priest 
twent)^-four years old. I had left Holland w^itli 
the intention of livino^ and dying with the In- 
dians. Having reached Georgetown College, my 
new superior gave me a book, the third in dig- 
nity among pious authors. Having met with a 



FATHER SCHOEN MAKERS. 1 97 

stimulent of edilication,, "a good father having 
bought a rich farm for his son, but which had 
been grown over by briars and shrubs, which 
were to be removed, the youth worked faithful- 
ly in company with his father, but when left to 
himself the task seemed useless and impossible. 
The experienced father then gave a small task 
to his son to be performed daily with a liberal 
reward for each day. The youth, by persever- 
ance, cleared a large spot within one month, and 
being encouraged by success, he finished the 
whole field, and reaped an abundant harvest the 
following season.' 

"Before T reached the field of my labors four- 
teen years elapsed. On the loth of May, 1847, 
I gathered into our school ten Indian boys, then 
visited Kentucky, where I obtained the assistance 
of the Sisters of Loretto for the girls. Before 
i860 the number of pupils had increased to 136 
boys and 100 girls, whilst no less than fifty Osage 
families had fenced in fields and raised hogs and 
cattle. The war deprived the Osages of all their 
labor and prospects. The youths of our school 
above the age of fifteen joined the Union army; 
500 Osages had gone South ; and of the remain- 
ing 3,000 four companies also joined the army. 
New trials were now upon us. ^Fajor V/hitney, 
a special agent, had brought provisions for the 
destitute Osages, while John Mathews, my old 
friend, whose five children I had raised in school, 
raised an alarm, entreating the Indians to re- 
gard the provisions as poisonous. This occur- 
rence alienated me from my old friend Mathews 
and I was obliged to spend eight months at St. 
Mary's in Pottawatomie county. On my return 
to the Osage Mission in March, 1862, the Osages 
were much divided. Frequent intercourse with 
their Southern relatives inceased our dangers. 



198 FATHER SCHOE;n MAKERS. 

The Southern (Jsages accompanied by Cherokees, 
invaded our Mission three times to sack and 
burn it, but being associated with old pupils of 
our school and parents whose children were still 
at the Mission, their counsel prevailed in spar- 
ing us, and thereby their own interest. Rut our 
dangers now enlarged on the part of the avarice 
and bigotry of pretended friends of the Union, 
and if Gen. Chas. W. Rlair had not been a true 
friend to the Mission it could not have escaped 
destruction. Our friends Cols. Thurston, of 
Humboldt, and Brown, of Tola, checked the mal^ 
ice of some ill designing leader, but Gen. Blair 
had the will and power to save Southern Kan- 
sas. The Osages during these hard times visit- 
ad me by day and by night. Should my advice to 
them liave been withdrawn. T have reason to 
believe that Osage City, Humboldt, Tola, T,e Roy, 
BurlinjL^ton and Ottawa would have been \?ad in 
ashes by the united Osages and Cherokees. God 
has spared us all. And in Sei->tember. T865, 
whilst the Osages sold and transferred a part of 
their land, thev have made thousands of homes 
for white families. As the whites settled first 
around our Mission, the idea struck me of a 
Mission town. Gen. Blair was to be renumerat- 
ed, if possible, and Gov. George A. Crawford 
wrote me a letter congenial to my plan. The 
town took a start, whilst Sam Williams and Ben 
ATcDonald brought us a mill. Mission town be- 
ing, started and prosperous T withdrew from 
partnership from conscience sake, fearing that 
questions would arise not in conformity with 
God's law. and which might blast all my past 
labors. T have been much blamed by our new 
citizens of Osage Mission town because T had 
given the ruling influence to the leading mem- 
bers of Fort Scott ; but may T not trust that they 



FATHER SCHOENMAKKRS. 199 

will pardon me if they should know what great 
gratitude is due to Gen. C. W. Blair. I have 
also been blamed for refusing other parties to 
erect a mill on Flatrock, but my personal ac- 
quaintence with the present mill company de- 
manded a preference. I knew their capital and 
energy. They have been faithful to their prom- 
ises, and built the best mill in Kansas. Our 
friends in Fort Scott have labored hard for our 
railroad interests and today, while we celebrate 
the event, our city is being surveyed for the 
opening of a promising railroad. The briars 
and shrubs are cleared, and the field is ready 
for abundant harvests. A library, hall and fe- 
male academy built partly of cut stone, adorns 
our new city. Ten churches have been erected 
in this portion of Kansas, within one year, and 
others are under construction, whilst settlers 
from every state in the Union make homes 
around them." 

CHARTERS ST. FRANCIs' INSTITUTION. 

The Mission schools began to prosper again 
before the close of the war, the average atten- 
dance being about 130, altho the Quapaws had 
withdrawn their children. The schools continu- 
ed to prosper until the Osages by the treaty of 
September 29, 1865, ceded their land on the 
Neosho to the government and moved to the 
Verdigris. The Osages continued to send their 
children to the Mission school, but not in such 
large numbers as before. The deficiency, how- 
ever, was soon made up by the whites who were 
settling in great numbers on the land vacated 
by the Indians near the Mission. The attend- 
ance of the whites increased so rapidly that the 
school was incorporated on May 13, 1870, under 



200 FATHER SCHOENMAKliRS. 

the name of St. Francis' Institution for Boys, 
with Father Schoenmakers as president and 
Father PonzigHone as secretary, in the Journal 
May 25, 1870. this advertisement appeared: 

"Osage Mission, St. Francis Institution for 
Boys. This Mission established in 1847, foi" the 
education of the Osages, is now erected into an 
educational establishment under the title of 'St. 
Francis' Institution for Boys,' an 1 is prepared to 
receive students. The Institution embraces all 
the branches of good English education, such 
as book-keeping, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, 
history, grammar, composition and penmanship. 
Students can be admitted at any time of the year. 
Payments must be made quarterly in advance. 

"Terms — Entrance fees, ,$5 ; board and tuition, 
per month, v$t5; washing, per annum. v$io: bed 
and bedding per annum, v$to; physician's fees, 
per annum. $5. 

"Extra — Music or drawing, at Professor's 
charge. 

"Rkv. joiix SciioENM.xKj'KS. S. J., Superior." 

The number of Osages in attendance at the 
school gradually decreased year after year until 
t88i, when the writer becam^- a student at the 
school, there were less than a dozen full blood 
Osage boys present. After Father Schoenmak- 
ers' death they ceased attending the Mission 
school altogether. 

TflK COrKT ()V L.VS'I' RKSORT. 

Father Schoenmakers was a man of medium 
height and build and rather quiet in his ways. 
He was a man of remarkable piety and goodness 
of heart and far above the ordinary in intelti- 



FATHER SCHOExN MAKERS. 201 

gence. These attributes combined to make him a 
man most fitting to be at tlie head of an institu- 
tion requiring patience, perseverance, tact and in- 
telligence. He therefore fitted well into the 
position he found himself placed in at the "Mis- 
sion." His was the guiding hand in all the af- 
fairs of the community, the schools and frequent- 
ly of the Indians. He not only did his full part 
of the work himself, but he was the "power be- 
hind the throne" directing the work of his as- 
sociates. The Osages held him in the highest 
respect, as attested by Father Bax in his letters. 
They placed the utmost confidence in him, and 
consulted him, not only in matters concerning 
religion and the school, but also concerning 
tribal affairs. He became a common arbiter of 
difficulties. When two Indians had a dispute 
they laid their case before Father Schoenmak- 
ers, and his decision was taken as final. There 
was no appealing to higher authority, for the 
Osages at that time recognized no higher au- 
thority. He was also the mediator between the 
Osages and the government in all their business 
affairs. The government officers and agents 
were also free to consult him in their dealings 
with the Osages. Colonel Sheridan, brother of 
General Phil Sheridan, spent a number of days 
at the Mission once while on business for the 
government. Major General W. B. Hazen. the 
gallant soldier who captured Ft. McAUister, near 
Savannah, Georgia, while with General Sher- 
man on his famous march to the sea, stopped at 
the ^fission in October. t868. to consult with 
Father Schoenmakers regarding methods of deal- 
ing with Indians who were causing troubles on 
the frontier. 

'vSometimes government agents would come 
here and take Father Schoenmakers with them 



202 FATIIKR SCMOKNMAKERS. 

on llicir Irip to llie Indian settlements to aid them 
in dealing' with the lril>es. The good Father was 
so fair in his dealings that he licld the friendship 
and good will of hoth parlies and was thus en- 
ahled to di) great good for the Indians, the peo- 
ple and the government. Father Paul tells in one 
of his letters of Generals Kwing and Blair tak- 
intr him with them to the C^^sages when they in- 
vestigated some r()mi)laints mad^ h}' ihe Osages 
against the Indian agent in J .ily, 1875. 

In the Neosho County Jourftal. July 28, 1875, 
this appears : 

"Gen. Charles F£wing, of Lancaste. , Ohio, was 
in town Saturday. Gen. E. is a son of old Tom 
Kwing anil a brother of Gen. Tom, both of na- 
tional fame, and himself held an important posi- 
tion (hiring the late war. lie is here now on an 
official visit to the various Indian tribes, under 
a])])ointment from President Grant, and will re- 
turn in a few days to proceed on his mission, 
accomjKUiied by Father Schoenmakcrs." 

General C. W. Rlair was abo a warm personal 
friend of h^ither Schocnniakers and often con- 
ferred with him at the Mission. Gov. Geo. A. 
Crawford was also among those who recognized 
the sterling worth as well as the good influence 
of Father v^choenmakers and was his warm per- 
sonal friend. During the days of the ''border 
warfare," Col. Richard Hinton, the fighter, 
writer and historian, visited Ihe Father, seeking 
information and ad\'ice. 

Father v^choenmakers' influence (ov good was 
not onlv local, but also state and national. He 
was a fearless fighter for the right, and this 
fact did nuich to widen his .sphere of influence 
among the whites as well as the Indians. The 
O.'^ages owe verv much of the credit for their 
present wealth to n valliant fight he made for 



FATHHR SCHOEN MAKERS. 203 

them ill 1868. iion. T. F. Rager, one of the 
early settlers at Usage Mission, in a speech made 
at an Old Settlers' Reunion at St. PauL, Kansas, 
in August, 1898, told of this fight as follows: 

"Quiet and unassuming, he possessed tiie qual- 
ities that make the successful man, strict integ- 
rity and great executive ability, coupled with the 
rare gift of an even temper and a pleasant dis- 
position. These qualities made him respected 
by and popular with those who were personally 
acquainted with him and loverl by those who 
knew him intimately. 

"With the Osages, among whom he livcl and 
worked so many years his word was abs'jlute 
verity. It followed that his influence among 
them was almost unlimited. An opportunity to 
wield this influence for jgood, both to the Indian 
and to the people presented itself in 1868, and 
was not lost by him. That year what was known 
as the 'Sturgis' treaty was effected with the 
Osages. By .the terms of this treaty all of the 
Osage diminished reserve, a body of land lying 
west of Ivalictte county in Kansas, containing 
eight million acres of some of the best land in 
the state, was conveyed to a railroad company 
for nineteen cents per acre. 

"Soon after the making of the treaty, a move- 
ment was: started to prevent its ratification by 
the I '. S. senate. This was no easy task as the 
evils resulting from the granting of large bodies 
of land to corporations were not fully realized 
by the people and the practice had many support- 
ers. Then came Father Schoenmakers' oppor- 
tunity. He went among the Osages and from 
what he said it soon dawned upon them that 
they had been woefully overreached in the mat- 
ter and knowing that they conUl trust him. they 



204 FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. 

did as he advised, sent in a statement of the 
facts, signed by the chiefs and head men, telling 
how they came to sign the treaty and why it 
should not be ratified and protesting against its 
ratification. 

"This coupled with the efforts of Sidney 
Clarke, then representative, had the desired ef- 
fect and the treaty was rejected. 

"Afterwards they ceded all the lands to the 
U. S. to be sold to actual settlers at $1.25 per 
acre and then the settlers swarmed in and occu- 
pied the country. Thus it will be seen that thru 
the efforts of this one man, thousands of people 
obtained cheap homes, and the fund for the 
Osages, instead of being about one and a half 
million dollars, as it would have been had the 
'Sturgis' treaty been ratified, was made some 
ten million dollars, so that the Indian and the 
Vv^hite men were both blest in the result. The 
only one hurt or out in the transaction was the 
railroad companv which contented itself by down- 
ing Clarke when he came up for nomination for 
congress." 

ERECTS SUBSTANTIAL BUILDINGS. 

The first building of any pretentions erected 
at the "Mission," was built in 1869. It was a 
two-story frame building, afterwards knows at 
St. Francis' Hall. The lower story was first 
used for a library and reading room. This was 
the first public library established in Neosho 
county, and perhaps the first in southeastern 
Kansas. The second story was used as a hall. 
Later, this building was used for the parish 
school for girls, and after the college was sus- 
pended it was used as a local school for boys. It 




MOTHKll PRIDC^tKI H VYDElN, 



FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. 205 

now fomis part of the barn used by the P<is- 
sionist Fathers- 

The first one of the big stone buildings was 
begun in October, 1871. It was four stories high, 
built of gray sandstone and for years was re- 
garded Si^ the finest building in southeastern 
Kansas. It was used as the home of the Jesuits, 
the fourth story being used as a dormitory for 
the students attending the school. This building 
was torn down in the spring of 1912, to make 
room for the present new monastery of the Pas- 
sionists. 

The stone college building was erected in 1872, 
and first used in 1873. Two stories and base- 
ment are built of stone, the top or fourth story 
being mansard. In this building were the class 
rooms of St. Francis' Institution. After the in- 
stitution was closed in 1891, the building remain- 
ed vacant until the burning of vSt. Ann's Acad- 
emy in 1885, when it became temporarily the 
home of the Sisters of Loretto. At present it is 
used as a local school building. 

Much of the money used for the construction 
of these two stone buildings was derived from 
the sale of lots in the St. Francis' Additions to 
Osage Mission, which were platted by Father 
Schoenmakers on land given him by the Osages. 

The first work done on vSt. Francis' church was 
in 1871. 

THE FIRST POSTMASTER. 

The close attention Father Schoenmakers gave 
to the schools, to church work and to the welfare 
of the Osages did not deter him from taking an 
active part in civil affairs in the early days. In 
1851 he caused a postoffice to be established at 
the "Catholic Mission," as the settlement was 



206 FATHER SCIiOEN MAKERS. 

then called, and he was appointed the first post- 
master, serving until 1864. This was the first 
postoffice established in what is now southeast- 
ern Kansas, except the military postoffice at Ft, 
Scott, and was one of the first on Kansas soil. 
It was likewise the first, and probably the only 
one in this region the postmaster of which was 
a Catholic priest. 

ORGANIZES A TOWN COMPANY. 

The Osages, in their treaty of 1865, provided 
that the government should deed to Father 
Schoenmakers a large tract of land surrounding 
the Mission, as a mark of appreciation of the 
many favors they had received from him. Father 
Schoenmakers, in turn, deeded to the Sisters of 
Loretto the big farm which they still own. One 
section of the land he set aside for a town and 
on it the town of St. Paul now stands. In De- 
cember, 1867, he formed the town company com- 
posed of himself. Gen. W. C. Blair, Gov. Geo. 
A. Crawford, S. A. Williams, Benjamin Mc- 
Donald, and John Naudier and established the 
town of Osage Mission. He deeded to this 
company the plot of ground which comprised the 
original town of Osage Mission. When the town 
was well started he withdrew from the company, 
desiring to devote his time more closely to his 
school and his religious work. 

SELDOM JN COURT. 

In addition to this land Father Schoenmakers 
handled much property for the school, the Jesuit 
institution and for others, especially minors, who 
had entrusted their property to his care. Not- 
withstanding this, he seldom had trouble with 



FATHER SCHOE:nMAKERS. 20/ 

Others that necessitated resorting to court meth- 
ods of adjustment. From Judge L. Stillwell, of 
Erie, Kansas, who was one of the early attorneys 
at Osage Mission, the following information was 
obtained : 

"Father Ponziglione never brought any suit 
in the District Court of this county. Father 
Schoenmakers brought five, but none of them 
were actions that involved any of his own per- 
sonal matters. Four of them were brought by 
him as 'Trustee for the Society Sustaining the 
Catholic Mission.' Three of these last named 
actions were against diflferent county officers of 
this county, and involved the question of the 
taxability of certain property, both real and 
personal, ovv^ned by the Father as trustee, as 
aforesaid. He contended th?t the property in 
question was used exclusively for 'educational, 
religious and charitabk' purposes and hence was 
exempt from taxation under Sec. i, Art. II, of 
the Constitution of the State of Kansas. Up to 
the time he brought these actions (which was 
at different times in 1869 and 1870), our Su- 
preme Court had not had occasion to construe 
the foregoing clause of the Constitution, or de- 
termine its extent, (nor did it until some years 
later.) so the Father's contention was then an 
'open question.' Two of the cases were dismiss- 
ed, on motion of the plaintiflf, but the most im- 
portant one was tried before Judge Goodin in 
July, 1 87 1, and he decided in favor of Father 
Sqhoenmakers. In 1877. or thereabouts, the 
case got into the Supreme Court, in regard only 
to a certain feature of the judgment. As you 
may see from the opinion of the Court, it upheld 
the decree of Judge Goodin only as to the taxes 
for the one vear. those of 1868. But in the mean- 



208 lUTHER SCHOENMAKERS. 

time the Court had considered in other cases, 
the questions involved in this Utigation of the 
Father's, and their decision were adverse to his 
position, so he brought no further actions of 
that character, 

"As regards the other action brought by Father 
Schoenmakers in his official capacity, the courts 
records show that it was against the Missouri, 
Kansas and Texas Railroad Company. The 
clerk, after deligent search, was unable to find 
the papers in the case, and there is no other rec- 
ord in his office showing what the suit was about. 
It was probably in regard to the title of some of 
the land held by Father Schoenmakers as trus- 
tee, as aforesaid. The records show that he dis- 
missed it. It perhaps was amicably settled. 

"The last case brought by the Father was 'as 
assignee of Jacob Funk' against B. W. Lenient 
and vS. S. Lement, for v^35o. which he also dis- 
missed. It doubtless was settled. 

"I was not counsel in any of the foregoing 
cases, but was familiar with all of them at the 
time, except the last one. T heard the arguments 
made therein, and they were interesting and 
abk. Among the attorneys who appeared on one 
side or the other of these various suits were 
Orein Thurston and J. R. F. Cates, both of Hum- 
boldt, and C. F. Hutchings, Tohn O'Grady, T. 
C. Cory, T. F. Rager, W. S." Carroll and John 
Moffitt, all of Osage Mission. 

"L. Stili.well." 

The Chaimte ^tiri, October 12, 1904, published 
some early reminiscences regarding court aflFairs 
in Neosho county from which the following is 
taken : 

"The case of Schoenmakers vs. M. Barnes, 



FATHER SC HORN MAKERS. 209 

sheriff, was an injunction suit against the county 
sheriff who had been ordered to sell the plain- 
tiff's chattels and personal property to satisfy a 
county bill against him for taxes. The plaintiff 
was one of the many teachers of the Osage Mis- 
sion Society and he alleged that the property on 
which the levy was about to be made belonged 
to the society which was only supported by the 
charities of the public, and whose workmen and 
teachers educated the Indians for no compensa- 
tion whatever, except their board and lodging. 
Within the next few days after securing the in- 
junction the poor teacher reconsidered, paid the 
taxes and the case was dropped from the court." 

RKTIRKS FROM ACTIVE DUTIES. 

Father Schoenu-iakers continued his active life 
until he had almost reached the alloted span of 
life, of ''three score years and ten." He was 
relieved of the position of superior of St. Fran- 
cis' Institution. July 5, 1876, but even until his 
death he ahvays held an advisory position. The 
Journal, on July 12, 1876, gives this account of 
his retirement : 

"An event of much local importance is the 
voluntary retirement of Rev. Fr. John Schoen- 
makers from the position of superior of St. 
Francis Institiition here, which he has held for 
the past 30 years. His increasing years and 
manifold cares had led him to frequently solicit 
his superiors for a change here, and that he be 
permitted to cease the arduous labors incumbent 
upon the head of the order. This has been re- 
fused until now — ^but at last consent was given, 
and on Thursday of last week (July 5, 1876) 
Rev. A drain Sweere, S. J., from Chicago, arriv- 



2IO FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. 

ed here as the duly accredited successor to Fr. 
Schoenmakers. 

"We will add that the latter remains here to 
assist by his counsel, which from his long and 
successful management, is indispensible; and that 
he will continue to receive the respect and good 
will of all our people irrespective of creed or 
political faith." 

FIFTY YEARS A PRIEST. 

Father Schoenmakers was a very quiet man 
and disliked publicity. He was letting the fiftieth 
anniversary of his ordination as a priest pass by 
when a lot of his friends, Catholic and non-Cath- 
olic alike called on him and provided the program 
for the celebration. From the Neosho County 
Journal, of April t8, 1883, the following is 
taken : 

"During the past week a number of our citi- 
zens had been quietly at work preparing to give 
good old Father Schoenmakers a genuine 'sur- 
prise party,' on the fiftieth anniversary of his 
ordination as a priest, and as an expression of 
the affection and good will they, in common with 
all, have for him as an unselfish Christian whose 
life has been passed in doing good to others. 

"At an early hour Monday evening a large 
number of ladies and gentlemen assembled at 
the comer of Main and County streets and pre- 
ceded by the Osage Mission Cornet Band, wend- 
ed their way by the light of the moon to the 
residence of the Mission Fathers ; where, sta- 
tioning themselves in close proximity, the pro- 
ceedings opened by the rendition of some fine 
music by the band, in a style highly creditable 
to them. During this prelude. Father Schocn- 



FATHER SCHOEN MAKERS. 211 

makers was brought out on the balcony, ac- 
companied by several of his confreres of the 
order, and was thereupon presented by Hon. C. 
F. Hutchings, on behalf of the donors, with a 
fine carpet and an elegant easy rocking chair, 
with various other articles of comfort. Mr. 
Hutchings in performing this pleasing duty made 
the following graceful and eloquent presentation 
address : 

'* 'Father Scho en makers : 

'' 'Upon this occasion of the fiftieth anniver- 
sary of the day upon which you first celebrated 
the sacred service of the Mass, your friends and 
neighbors have assembled here to express to you 
their sincere friendship and affection, and to 
ask you to accept at their hands these simple 
testimonials of their esteem. Our words. Father, 
are not the idle compliments which escape from 
the lips of those who would flatter and please 
the vanity of one engaged in pursuing the de- 
ceitful allurements of worldly wealth or fame, 
but are the sentiments which effervesce from the 
hearts of friends, as an offering to one whose 
mind and heart long ago purged of the false and 
illusory ambitions of the world, for more than 
half a century has devoted a noble life of self- 
sacrifice to the promotion of works of religion 
and charity, and to the amelioration of the un- 
happy condition, and the spiritual regeneration 
and well being, of the lowliest and most humble 
of his fellow men. The precious seeds of reli- 
gion, charity and virtue which during your long 
ministration you have, with liberal and unweary- 
ing hand, sown along the pathway of your event- 
ful life, have sprung up and developed, as it 
were, into beautiful and stately trees, that, rich 
with their shining fruit, mark your voilsome 
course of half a hundred vears, and indicate to 



212 FATHER SCHOEN MAKERS. 

the living and to thousands that shall come af- 
ter us the way by which they may achieve ide 
highest aims of good and noble lives. 

" 'In these serene and peaceful autumn days 
of your life, as you behold the golden fruits of 
your life's w^ork, when you take a retrospective 
view of your labors, and recur to the day now 
more than thirty-six years ago, when in the 
solitude of a primitive world, surrounded only 
by wild and inhospitable people, you planted 
here the tiny seed, which, tended and nourished 
by your constant love, has germinated and 
grown until it has broken into the fragrant 
bloom of these noble institutions of learning 
that surround us, this grand sanctuary now near- 
ing completion, and in which shall be nurtured 
the religious and spiritual lives of generations 
yet to come, how approvingly must your con- 
science speak to you and smile upon your past 
career, 

" 'We have interrupted your quiet meditations 
to tender to you these simple offerings, and as- 
sure you of our friendship and gratitude, and in 
parting we wish you many happy returns of this 
day, upon this spot where so many years ago 
you braved the hardships, the privations, the 
dangers and the solitude of the desert and the 
wilderness, to sacrifice your life in the effort to 
redeem a wild and savage race, may your days 
long henceforth lengthened out, at last end in 
peace among us, your constant friends, surround- 
ed by the noble monuments of learning and re- 
ligion which your piety and unselfish devotion 
to the cause of humanity have here erected.' 

''F'atbcr vSchoenmakers, tho oast his 75 years, 
arose and responded in a voice heard by all. 
} le said : 

" 'My Friends : T am indeed deeply grateful 



FATHER SCHOEN MAKERS. 213 

for your kindness and consideration. Thirty- 
six years ago, when I hrst settled here among 
the Indians, Httle did I think that civilization 
would ever reach me, and that I should be 
spared to celebrate my jubilee among so many 
highly cultivated Christian friends. You have 
been very kind to me, and I have received many 
letters of congratulation, and many have called 
upon me during the day. 1 thank you for your 
kindly expressions towards me, and your con- 
sideration for my comfort in the elegant pres- 
ents you have brought me and 1 invoke a bless- 
ing upon each and every one of you. Good 
night.' '' 

HIS LAST DAYS. 

Father Schoenmakers led a retired life after 
he relinquished his duties as superior. He sel- 
dom appeared in public, save only to say Mass, 
or to preach an occasional sermon in the old 
log church, or to visit the boys at the school. 
However, in his retirement lie did not lose in- 
terest in St. Francis' church which he had helped 
to plan and get under way, and which he hoped 
to see completed during his life. Thru the in- 
fluence of relatives and friends he obtained sums 
of money from Europe which were spent in 
erecting this church which, as he viewed it, was 
to become the pride of Southern Kansas. He 
encouraged Father Ponziglione to greater en- 
deavors to hasten the completion of the edifice 
that he might be present at its dedication, but as 
the finishing touches were being put to the stone 
walls, his health began to fail rapidly and it soon 
became apparent that his desire to see the church 
completed was not to be gratified. His last mo- 
ments on earth are thus described bv C. H. Flow- 



214 i'ATKER SCHOEN MAKERS. 

ard in the xS'eosho County jGunial, August 3, 
1883: 

''Altho for some months our community had 
known that that venerable and beloved man, 
Father John Schoenmakers, was in poor health, 
and lately had been perceptibly failing, no one 
seemed to realize that the end was so near. But 
on Saturday last he grew so much more feeble, 
and seemed so wTak and wan, that his attend- 
ants knew that the last scenes of his life were 
drawing to a close, — and during the long, and to 
them agonizing day, they watched and minister- 
ed to him as best they could, while the Angel 
01 Death came down with noisless wing and 
stood by their side to receive his parting spirit 
as it should leave its poor mortality. 

"In the afternoon he seemed to suffer much, 
but later became easier, and his loving and ever 
faithful coadjutor, Father Ponziglione, seeing 
his lii)s move, bent over his almost inanimate 
form and cai^ght the whispered invocation of 
the dying man : *ln Thee, Oh Lord, I hoped, 
and I will not be confounded forever,' And at 
4:30 o'clock p. m., the soul of the good Father 
])assed forever away from its earthly tenement 
to an eternal reward, July 28, 1883. 

"The remains were placed in a casket and 
removed to the church Saturday evening, where 
they were viewed by great numbers of people. 
On Sunday at 4 o'clock p. m., the funeral ser- 
vices were held at the church, at which an im- 
mense assemblage had congregated — variously 
estimated, at from 2,500 to 3,000 people — a large 
portion of whom could not gain admittance to 
the building. (A special train brought a large 
delegation of people from Parsons.) Father 
Ponziglione delivered the funeral discourse, 



FATHER SCHOEN MAKERS. 21 5 

which was a most eloquent and feehng tribute 
to the intellectual, moral and social excellencies 
of the dead Father, with whom he had been so 
closely associated for thirty-two years. Father 
Ponziglione's earnestness of manner and great 
emotion gave evidence of the depth of his feel- 
ings, and carried the hearts of his audience with 
him as he rapidly sketched the unselfish nature 
of the lamented dead before them. After the 
ceremony the remains were escorted to the 
Catholic cemetery, followed by a procession half 
a mile in length. Here at the grave the short 
but impressive burial service was performed by 
Father Ponziglione, the casket was lowered and 
the earth was placed over all that was mortal 
of the venerable and venerated priest, known 
and beloved by all. A solemn dirge was played 
by the Osage Mission Cornet Band, assisted by 
the Coeur de Leon band from Parsons, during 
these last sad ceremonies. At the close, the grave 
was nearly covered with beautiful tributes plac- 
ed by the hands of women and children, and 
others who thus testified their love for their de- 
parted counsellor and friend. 

''Thus has left us, in the hope and assurance 
of a blessed immortality, a man singularly free 
from selfish feelings, whose life had been spent 
in seeking to do good to others at the expense 
of his own great labor and discomfort; who 
knew no enemy, as he was everybody's friend, 
and spiritual as well as temporal counsellor, — 
and who lived and passed to the grave at the 
age of three score and sixteen years, loved, re- 
spected, and everywhere honored by all cla.sses 
and conditions of society; the rich, the poor; 
the humble and the exalted ; by Catholic and 
Protestant alike, each and all uniting to render 
full tribute to the worth and memory of the kind 



2l6 FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. 

friend, and untiring worker for the good of 
others." 

The last official act of Father Schoenmakers 
appearing on the records of St. Francis' church 
was the baptisini of Anna or Marriam Agnes 
Oswell, an orphan girl, in March, 1883. 

The early settlers in this section owe much 
to this great tho unassuming man. The hospi- 
tality of his home was open to every stranger 
who wandered this way, and the settlers w^ere 
given aid in innumerable ways. He taught the 
Indians to treat the whites as their brothers and 
to assist them in their needs. Thus he made 
friends of those wdio otherwise might have been 
hostile enemies, as they were in other localities. 
He also taught the Indians how to provide for 
their own wants, and to properly regard the 
rights of the individual. The fruits of his ef- 
forts in this respect are evident to-day for the 
Osages. besides being one of the most peaceful 
tribes, are the w^ealthiest Ind'ans in America. 
Many of them are w^ell educated and have bright 
and happy homes. 

Kind and generous, he was more solicitous 
for the w^elfare of others and of those under his 
charge than for himself. It was but natural that 
every one, irrespective of creed, was his friend. 

Father Schoenmakers' remains rest in the 
Mission cemetery', the site he selected for the 
deceased members of his flock. A modest mar- 
ble slab marks the location of his grave, but it is 
a spot that is not forgotten or neglected. Altho 
many years have passed since his demise, ad- 
miring friends fretjuently visit his grave, there 
to offer up fervent and earnest prayers implor- 
inGT intercession Ur: ^ho'-e le^^ b Irnd. 



FATHER SCHOKN MAKERS. 21^ 

A MAN OF GREAT MODESTY. 

The dislike of Father Schoenmakers for no- 
toriety or publicity is illustrated by this sketch 
written by C. H. Howard in August, 1883 : 

"Father Ponziglione showed us last Saturday 
a photograph of Father Schoenmakers from a 
negative taken after death, which was as good 
a likeness as could be expected under the cir- 
cumstances. Father Schoenmakers would never 
consent to sit for a likeness ; but some years ago 
by strategy a fairly good negative was taken 
when the Father was not aware of what was 
being done. These two photographs will be 
sent to an eminent artist in New York in order 
to get from them, thru his skill, a good likeness 
of Father Sch.oenmakers as he appeared in life. 
If successful, some thousands of these will be 
printed andofifered for sale at the Catholic fair 
which will be held here during the coming fall." 

A MAN OF COURAGE. 

C. H. Howard, for many years postmaster at 
the Mission, and also editor of the Neosho Coun- 
ty Journal, wrote this for his paper Augvist 22, 
1883 : 

"In conversation a few days since with Mrs. 
Naudier, she mentioned one circumstance that 
fell beneath her own observation, so well illus- 
trative of Father Schoenmakers' zeal and dis- 
regard of personal danger, that we noted it down 
for the benefit of our readers. During the civil 
war, a band of probably two hundred Osage 
warriors were camped in the south part of town, 
as this place was their home at that date. These 
warriors were in the service of the government, 
and had just returned from an expedition into 



2l8 FATHER SCHOEN MAKERS. 

Missouri, bringing with them some scalps ob- 
tained from enemies who had falkn in battle. 
x\t the time mentioned this band of warriors was 
having a scalp dance, and in the midst of their 
ogeries word came to Father Schoenmakers that 
it was the intention of the Osages to place staffs 
decorated with scalps on the graves in the Catho- 
lic cemetery. Hastily repairing to the Osage 
camp, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Naudier 
and perhaps others, Father Schoenmakers ad- 
dressed himself to the warriors frenzied with the 
savage excitement of the scalp dance, told them 
that they 'must not and could not place a single 
scalp upon a grave in the cemetery,' and bravely 
and firmly reiterated the declaration while toma- 
hawks were brandished about in the hands of 
the thoroly infuriated Indians greatly incensed 
at this interference of the white man. Mrs. 
Naudier says that for some time Father Schoen- 
makers' friends momentarily expected to see him 
ruthlessly slain and to their expressions of alarm 
he simply answered that fears of death could 
not deter him from the performance of this 
Christian duty. Suffice it to say that the brave 
and determined, yet calm demeanor and words 
of Father Schoenmakers conquored by mere 
moral force the infuriated passion of the Osages, 
and no scalp desecrated the graves as had been 
determined." 

MIS INTRODUCTrON TO THE OSAGES. 

An incident of Father Schoenmakers' intro- 
duction to the Osages on his first visit to the 
Neosho is told by M.. F. Cassidy of Independ- 
ence, Kansas, who came to Kansas in 1869, 
and heard tlie Father relate the story himself, as 
follows : 



FATHER SCHOENMAKERS. 219 

"Father Schoenmakers had employed a Pot- 
tawatomie Indian to act as guide for him. They 
arrived on the banks of the Neosho river in the 
evening. They prepared a hasty supper and 
when it was partaken of, the guide at once left 
the good Father all alone, nor did he return un- 
til daylight the next morning. The Indian then 
pointed out where the Indian town could be 
found and at once demanded his pay, explaining 
that if caught by the Osages he would lose his 
life as well as his scalp. Father Schoenmakers 
therefore paid his dusky guide, and taking h^'s 
little camp equipment ventured into the Indian 
village." 

Mr. Cassidy also tells this incident which oc- 
curred shortly after Father Schoenmakers took 
up his permanent abode at ''the Mission'' : 

"Father Schoenmakers brought with him a 
cow ; also a bell and a strap to attach to the 
cow's neck that she might be more readily found. 
The first day the cow was turned out she came 
home minus the bell and strap, but on the fol- 
lowing morning a big Osage appeared with the 
bell in his hand but minus the strap, remark- 
ing, *I have found your bell. What will you 
give me for it? Give me nenihoe f tobacco).' 
This was kept up for some time, the cow com- 
ing home without the bell and. 'Father T have 
found your bell; give me nenihoe' The good 
Father put his wits to work, got a chain and 
rivited it around the cow's neck, and thereafter 
there was no more nenihoe paid for the lost bell." 

A LETTER TO THE BTG CHIEE. 

Osage Mission. Kansas. May 29, 1876. 

Big Chief, Dear Friend : Your brother, Peter 

Watzaitan. left our school at Osage Mission in 



220 FATHKR vSCHOEN MAKERS. 

the beginning of 1862, to join the Union army. 
After being drilled to the use of arms, he ob- 
tained a furlough to visit his relations as the 
reward of his faithful services. His first visit 
was turned to his beloved home, the school at 
Osage Mission, where he spent three .delightful 
days. At the end of his furlough he promptly 
returned to the army and showed a bravery un- 
surpassed. 

However, aware of his surrounding dangers, 
he often thought of the happy hours he had en- 
joyed at school: he therefore sent me his like- 
ness to be mindful of him in case death should 
overtake him. As no one has a better title to his 
likeness than his brother, the Chief of Sanzo- 
genie town, I gladly send it to you. 

Very respectfully yours. 

John Schoknmakers, S. J. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FATHER JOHN BAX, 

"Some men are born, ordained from earliest days. 
In our own eyes, His servants. On their brows 
We see His work of Sanctity impressed 
So broad and deep, that foreordained they walk, 
From childhood until death. His holy will 
Performing, by right, from day to day." 

—Walter J. Blak^ly. 

Father John Bax, S. J., was the companion of 
Father Schoenmakers on his trip from St. !Louis 
to the Osages, and his co-worker at the "Mis- 
sion" until his death in 1852. He was born in 
Belgium, January 15, 1817, and joined the Jesu- 
its November t2, 1840. Prior to coming to the 
Osages, he had been stationed at Florissant and 
other points near St. Louis, but being a young 
man he had not been assigned any very arduous 
duties. 

At the Mission Father Bax was given active 
charge of the church work while Father Schoen- 
makers devoted most of his time to the schools. 
The records of St. Francis' church show that 
Father Bax was a most active worker. 

During 1847, Seventy-nine Osages were bap- 
tised, most of them by Father Bax. He visited 
the tribes at their various towns both on the Neo- 
sho and the V'^erdigris, doing much the same kind 
of work Father Paul did later. In his records he 
speaks of visits at Whitehair's town over the 
river, Little town of the Little Osages. and of 
(221) 



222 FATHIiR BAX. 

being on the line near the Fort. This was in 

1847. In 1848 he speaks of being at Marmonta 
near the Little Osage river, Sanza Ougrin town, 
Big Little Osage village, Owlstown, Gremand 
town, and the village three miles southwest. 

In June, 1848, Father Bax made a trip to south- 
west Missouri, making visits at Diamond Grove, 
Shoal creek, Sarcoxie, the Osage Fork of the 
Gasconade river, on the Niangua in Wright coun- 
ty, Harmony Mission, and on the Marmaton in 
Bates county. He was absent about a month. 
He made another trip in Octobci and November, 

1848, over much the same route. In 1850 he 
went as far to the northeast at Calhoun in Henry 
county, Missouri. 

The Mission records show 210 baptisms were 
performed dining 1851. most of them by Father 
Bax. 

The story of his work among the Osages is 
best told in his own letters and in the letter of 
Father DeSmet, which follow this article. 

Father Bax died August 5, 1852, and was the 
first to be buried in that part of the cemetery 
near the "I^.Iission" which Father Schoenmakers 
had selected for tlie last resting place of the de- 
ceased members of his household. 

Some interesting letters written bv Father 
Bax follow : 

I-ATHET? BAX'S FIRST LETTER TO EATHER DE SMET. 

Mission of St. Francis Hieronymo, 
Among the Osages, June i, 1850. 
jRev. and \^ery Dear Father: 

Already three years have elapsed since we. 
commenced the toils of our Mission. I will say 
nothing to you of the embarrassments inseparable 
from such an enterprise ; you are too well ac- 



^ath£;r bax. 223 

quainted with this ground, and are aware, also, 
that to prepare for its cultivation exacts 
the courage that Christian charity alone can 
inspire. I will not, therefore, stop to relate the 
obstacles, the fatigues of every sort, that we en- 
countered in our route. At present the burden 
is alleviated; particularly since the arrival of a 
teacher and of a Brother, the affairs of the Mis- 
sion are extending, and wear a much more favor- 
able aspect. 

I profit by my earliest leisure moments, to sat- 
isfy the desire that you have several times testi- 
fied to me, of having some details concerning our 
dear Mission of the Osages. I hope, in this way, 
to offer you a slight testimony of cur ,gratitude 
for the interest you take in our labors and in our 
success. Tliese marks of attention, on your part, 
Reverend Father, give us the assurance that, if 
momentarily you remain remote from your dear 
Indians, your heart nevertheless sighs continuous- 
ly towards our poor and isolated chiklren of the 
wild solitude. 

You are aware, that this Mission was, during 
several years, in the hands of the Presbyterians. 
They were obliged to abandon it in 1845. Those 
gentlemen were forced to come to this resolution 
by the Indians themselves, who were fully de- 
termined never to adopt the doctrine of Calvin. 
In the course of the same year. Major Harvey, 
Superintendent of the Indian tribes, having as- 
sembled in Council the different tribes of the 
Osage nation, exposed to them, in the liveliest 
colors, the advantages of a good education ; he 
added, that if such should prove their will, their 
Great Father (The President) would send them 
missionaries to instruct their children. At this 
proposition, the Great Chiei replied in the name 
of the Council : 



224 FATHER BAX. 

"Our Great Father is very kind; he loves his 
red-skinned children. Hear what we have to say 
on this subject: We do not wish any more such 
missionaries as we have had during several 
years ; for they never did us any good. Send 
them to the whites ; perhaps they may succeed 
better with them. If our Great Father desires 
that we have missionaries, ycu will tell him to 
send us Black-gowns, who will teach us to pray 
to the Great Spirit in the French manner. Al- 
tho several years have elapsed since they have 
visited us, we always remember the visit with 
gratitude ; and we shall be ever ready to receive 
them among us, and to listen to their preaching." 

The superintendent, a just and liberal man, 
wished only the welfare of the Indians. Altho 
a Protestant, he communicated this reply to 
the Government, and supported and confirmed 
it with his own remarks and observations. In 
pursuance with his advice, the President had re- 
course to the Superiors of our Society, request- 
ing them to assume the charge of this Mission. 

At first, the Father Provincial offered ^ome ob- 
jections, knowing that no one had yet been able 
to succeed in ameliorating the condition of this 
people, under the double relation of spiritual and 
temporal. In the interval, the Indians were in 
the most painful uncertainty not knowing wheth- 
er the "Great Father" would grant or refuse 
them their petition. But they were soon satis- 
fied : our Society accepted the mission. 

In the autumn of 1846, the Reverend Father 
Schoen makers quitted St. TvOMis to go to \}m 
Osages. with the intention of retnr'^'n?, pfter 
having examined the state of affairs, the house.?, 
etc. He came back to St. Louis in midwinter, 
and his second departure was retarded until the 
following spring. 



FATHER BAX. 22$ 

After Father Schoenmakers had left them, the 
poor Indians counted the days and the hours un- 
til spring, at which time he promised to return 
to them ; but they waited in vain ! The year glid- 
ed past; they lost all hope of seeing him again. 
Nevertheless they were resolved to accept none 
but Catholic missionaries. 

When all our preparations were completed, 
Father Schoenmakers, myself, and three coadjut- 
or Brothers, quitted St. Louis on the 7th of 
April 1847, a^<^l we arrived on the bank of the 
Neosho, a tributary of the Arkansas, situatea 
about 130 miles from Westport, frontier town of 
the State of Missouri. 

To you, my dear Father, who have many times 
traversed the great extent, from the States to 
the Pacific, who have traveled over the Rocky 
Mountains anH their valleys — our pains, troubles, 
and fatigues must appear truly insignificant. Bu<' 
this trial was very severe to us, who were enter- 
ing, for the first time, into the immense prairies 
of the Indians, which we had only measured ac- 
cording to the deceptive images of our imagina- 
tion. Tnilv, the reality appeared to us very dif- 
ferent. We endured hunger, thiist, and cold. 
For a fortnight we were obliged to pass our 
nights in the open air. in the dampest season of 
the year, each having naught for a bed but a buf- 
falo-hide and a single blanket. 

About TOO miles from Westport we had a pan- 
ic. Arrived at a place named "Walnut Grove," 
we perceived in the distance a large troop of 
mounted Indians, who turned directly toward 
us. Unaccustomed to such sights, we w^ere seiz- 
ed with great anxiety which soon changed to 
genuine fright; for we saw those savages, on 
approaching us. alight from their horses with 
extraordinary agilttv. At once they took posses- 



220 FATHER BAX. 

sion of our carts and wagons, which we fancied 
destined to pillage. They examined our chests 
and our baggage as minutely and coolly as old 
custom-house officers. Happily we recovered 
from our fright. We presented them with rolls 
of tobacco. They shook hands with us in token 
of friendship. Soon after we lost sight of them, 
congratulating ourselves at having escaped at 
so trifling an expense. An idea, however, occu- 
pied us: they might repent of their benevolence 
towards us and attack us and steal our horses 
during the night. We consequently left the or- 
dinary route, and went and camped far in the 
plain. These Indians, as we learned later, be- 
longed to the nation of Sauks, and had been pay- 
ing a visit to their allies, the Osages. 

On the 28th of April we reached our destina- 
tion, to the great surprise and delight of the In- 
dians ; for, as I have already observed to you, 
they had resigned the hope of seeing us. 

It would be impossible to paint to you the en- 
thusiasm with which we were received. They 
considered us as men whom the Great Spirit had 
sent to teach them the good news of salvation ; 
to trace out to them the path to heaven, and to 
procure them, also, earthly peace and plenty. 

At the first sight of these savages, and finding 
myself surrounded by these children of the des- 
ert, I could not suppress the pain I felt. I saw 
their sad condition. The adult had only a slight 
covering over the middle of the .body ; the little 
children, even as old as six or seven years, were 
wholly destitute of clothing. Half serious, half 
jest'ng, T thought that a truly savage portion of 
the Lord's vineyard had been given me to culti- 
vate; but I did not lose courage. The object of 
my desires, and the subject of my prayers, dur- 
ing many long years, had been to become a mis- 



FATHER BAX. 227 

sionary to the Indians. That grace was obtain- 
ed; I felt contented and happy. 

On our arrival, we found the houses unfinish- 
ed, very inconvenient and much too small for a 
great number of children; they were also very 
badly situated, not being, as they should have 
been, in the center of all the villages which com- 
pose the Mission. From this resulted an increase 
in the number and difficulties of our occupations. 

The population of the tribes (comprised un- 
der the name of Great Osages and Little Osag- 
es), is nearly 5,000 souls, of v/hom 3,500 reside 
on the banks of tlie Neosho ; and the others on 
the Verdigris, a little river smaller than the for- 
mer, altho the valleys and the prairies that it 
waters are more favorable to culture. 

The Osages who remain on the banks of the 
Neosho are divided into several- little villages. 
The Little Osages form a population of 1,500 
souls, and are 22 miles from the Mission. The 
village of Nanze-Waspe contains six hundred in- 
habitants, at a distance of twelve miles ; the vil- 
lage P.icrcbief is composed of three hundred souls, 
four miles: the Weicbaka-Ougin. of five hun- 
dred, three miles ; Little Town numbers three 
hundred inhabitants, and is thirty miles distant ; 
'Big-hill or Passoi-OucfHn, situated on the Verdi- 
le^ris. fortv miles ofiF, has a population of six hun~ 
dred souls : les Cheniers. or v^anze-Ougrin, 
amount to nearly seven hundred, fifty-five miles » 
the Black-Doo-. or Skankfa-Sape. village, sixty 
miles off .contains four hundred inhabitants. 
There are. beside^, other small villages, dispersed 
at a ereat distance f^om us. The tv/o rivers on 
which they dweH empty into the Arkansas. The 
lowlands are in freneral swampy, but the plain of 
the Neosho is sandv. 

Formerlv the O^iaJres were rer>re<^ented as cruel 



228 FATHER BAX. 

and perverse, addicted to the most degrading 
vices; calumny depicted them as thieves, assas- 
sins and drunkards. 

To this last reproach, 1 am grieved to say 
they have given occasion; they are passionately 
fond of intoxicating liquors. The effects of 
this vice had become so terrible that, on our ar- 
rival, entire tribes were nearly destroyed. In 
the spring of 1847, in otie village alone, thirty 
young men, in the prime of life, were victims 
of strong drink. I have met men, women and 
children, in a complete state of intoxication, drag- 
ging themselves to their wigwams like so many 
brutes. This spectacle, my dear Father, drew 
forth many tears and sighs from those who had 
hten selected and sent to labor for the happiness 
and salvation of these unfortunate beings. It( 
was extremely painful to look at those sons of 
the wilderness, delivered to the enemy of God 
and man. Thanks to our Lord, the evil was ex- 
tripated at its root ; the advice of a kind and very 
worthy agent of the government, as well as our 
own efforts, have succeeded so well, that drunk- 
enness has been almost completely banished. 
Daily prayers are offered that this crime, and all 
the miseries which arise in its train, may not 
appear among us. At present, the Indians them- 
selves comprehend the necessity of temperance. 
Several among them come frequently to tell me, 
with great simplicity, that they do not fall into 
this vice any more. These savages exhibit in 
their stoical resolutions, a degree of courage 
that should excite a blush on the check of many 
a white man. 

Those who call them thieves and assassins 
have calumniated them. Some bands of thieves, 
froing from the north to the south, cross the set- 
tlements of the Osages, as well as those of the 



FATHER BAX. 229 

whites who inhabit the frontiers. It is their 
trade to steal everything and carry all away, and 
in such a manner that the Osages have been ac- 
cused of the thefts. We may say as much of the 
pillages committed on the route to Santa Fe. 

According to my experierxe, t^icre are few na- 
tions in tliis region as affable and as affectionate 
as the Osages. Indeed it may be said that it is 
natural to them to wish to live in peace and per- 
fect friendship with all whom they know. Peace 
and harmony reign among them ; no harsh words 
ever escape their tongues, unless when they are 
drunk to excess. Now they are at peace with 
all the tribes , except with the Pawnee-Mahas, 
whose manner of acting towards them would 
inspire aversion in civilized people as well as in 
barbarians. Scarcely are the Osages gone forth 
to hunt than the Pawnees, who wait this moment, 
fall on their undefended villages, pillage the wig- 
wams, and steal the horses. The Osages have 
frequently made peace with this nation : but the 
treaties have hardly been ratified ere the perfid- 
ious enemy renewed its attacks. 

I have long but vainly endeavored to put an 
end to the cruel mania of taking off the scalps of 
the dead 'and wounded. In this project, as in 
many others, I have been checked by bad coun- 
sels and bad examples of the whites. I should 
be pleased to be able to tell the savages, with 
whom I am charged, to imitate the whites, and 
it would be most agreea,ble to me to propose them 
as models of imitation, but my words would be 
ineffectual. Here, as formerly in Paraguay, the 
Indian derives no advantage from the vicinity 
of the whites ; on the contrary, he becomes more 
artful, more deeply plunged in vice, and finding 
no blasphemous words in his own tongue, curses 
his God in a foreign language. 



230 FATHKR BAX. 

To viLiiionslrate to you ihe evil effects of the 
pioxiniriy of the whites, I wi^ll cite you a little 
anecdote. The fact occurred about a year ago. 
I was g^v^ng an instruction in a village named 
Woichaka-Ougrin, or Cockle-bird. The subject 
was iutfUiperance. 1 spok^ of the evil consc- 
<:juences of this passion, of its effects on the 
health, of the rapidity with which it conducts 
nieri to the tumb, or separates them from their 
wives in\c\ their children whom the Great Spirit 
had entrusted to them. 1 added that the pleasure 
attending drinking was extremely short, while 
the i)ur)ishrnent would be eternal. As I was con- 
cluding, vSha|)e-shin-kaouk, or the Little Beaver, 
one of the principal men of the Tribe, arose and 
said to me: "Father, what thou sayest is true. 
We believe thy words. We have seen men buried 
becar.se they love^l and drank fire water. One 
thing astonishes us. W^e are ignorant ; we are 
not acquainted with books; we never heard the 
woris of the (ireat Spirit ; ,but the whites who 
know bo(;»lcs, who have understanding, and who 
have heard the commandments of the Great Spir- 
it, — why do they drink this fire-water? Why do 
they hrhi^ it to us. wheii thev know God sees 
them?" 

T will now er.ter into some more particular de- 
t.-.ils concerning our missions and labors. Imme- 
d'ately after onr arrival in the spring of 1847. 
our first care was to prepare a school. It was 
opened on the loth of May. The scholars were 
not very numerous at the commencement; some 
half-bloodr and tliree Indians were the only ones 
thrf frrscnted ^hrmselv-s. The parents, full of 
prejudices against a "school," gave for excuse, 
thnt the cVildren who had been confided to the 
former missionaries (the PresbvteriansV had 
learned nothing, had been wlnpped everv dav. 



]?ATH^R BAX. 231 

made to work continuaiiy, and at last ran away. 
These reports spread far and wide. The most 
efficacious correction that a father could employ 
against a child, was to threaten it with being 
sent to school. 1 had proofs of this a short time 
after our arrival. In one of my visits to a village 
of Little Osages, called Huzegta, having an in- 
terpreter with me, 1 entered into the lodge of the 
first chief. On presenting myself, I offered my 
han-d in token of friendship. '*\Vho are you?" 
said he to me. "A tapouska, or missionary, "' 
was the reply. During some moments he hung 
his head without uttering a word, flien raising 
his eyes, he said in a bad humor : "The mission- 
aries never did any good to our nation." The in- 
terpreter answered that I did not belong to the 
class of missionaries that he had seen ; that 1 
was a French tapouska, a Black-gow^n, who had 
come at their request and at that of the "Great 
Father." Then serenity reappeared on the visage 
of the chief <v\u\ he cried out, "This is good 
news." He immediately offered me his han 1, 
called his wife, and ordered buffa!o-soup, wish- 
ing to feast my arrival. He proposed several 
questions relative to the manner in which I w^ould 
educate the ch Idren, if they were sent to me; he 
declared to me that he did not approve of whip- 
ping the children; he asked me, in fine, if we 
would instruct aged persons. When 1 "^old him 
that we cam.e to instruct everybody, to announce 
the w^ord of God to the whole nation, he express- 
ed much delight and gratitude. As soor as he 
knew us and learned the object of our visit, his 
prejudices and his apprehensions vanished. 

At my first visits, the children would not ap- 
proach me. I dissipated their fears by g'-ving 
them cakes and marbles, with which my pockets 
were ahvays filled. They became familiar, and 



2^2 FATHER BAX. 

in a short time they were extremely attached to 
me. The first who came to school, ,being very 
happy, expressed their satisfaction and their de- 
li.s^hl to their parents, praising the care of the 
Black-gowns in teaching antl feeding them. This 
news spread abroad. Now the children entreat 
the parents to sufiter them to go to the Mission; 
the parents never refuse them, for the Indian is 
full of indulgence towards his little ones. 

Before the close of the year, those who were 
received and those who desired to be admitted, 
surpassed the number we could lodge. We have 
ever since been crowded. In a house built for 
twenty persons only, we were obliged to 
lodge fifty children. In order to take measures, 
the nation assembled and requested the agent to 
petition their Great Father to augment and en- 
large the houses of the Mission. The govern- 
ment acceded to this demand. 

The chiefs cannot be too much praised for the 
good example that they have given to the nation, 
and the ardent desire that they manifest for the 
education of their daughters. When they first 
made me this latter request, I found myself 
singularly embarrassed for the means of realizing 
so laudable a project. Father Schoenmakers re- 
solved to interest a kind and fervent community 
of nuns in the education of the Osage girls. With 
this intention he went to St. Louis; but he knock- 
ed in vain at the door of several convents of that 
city, for the enterprise frightened every one. He 
was not discouraged. At length he succeeded in 
obtaining the good and charitable Sisters of Lo- 
retto, in Kentucky, for the education of the girls 
of this remote Mission. In the autumn of the 
year 1847, four religious arrived to share our 
labors. Their suflFerings, their trials, and their 
privations were very great. They were obliged 



FATHJSR BAX. 233 

to sleep in the open air. That did not hinder two 
other Sisters from coming to join them a little 
after in their heroic enterprise. Their patience, 
their kindness, their courage, and their persever- 
ance have gained the esteem, affection, and love 
of every one. They are succeeding; they have 
already produced a considerable change, and arc 
doing great good. The talents displayed in the 
direction of their school, and the rapid progress 
of the children are admired by all the strangers 
who visit this community. 

In order not to pass the limits of a letter, I 
will leave the rest till another moment, and I will 
inclose it to you in a few days. 

In the mean time, reverend and very dear 
Father, I commend myself to your holy sacrific- 
es and your good prayers. 

Your ever devoted Brother, 

J. J. Bax, S. J. 

FATHKR BAX'S SECOND LETTER. 

Village of St. Francis Hieronymo, 
June 10, 1850. 

Rev. and Very Dear Father : In my last letter 
I was obliged, against my inclination, to give you 
a very abridged description of the truly prosper- 
ous state of our schools. 

Nothing astonishes the whites more than the 
extraordinary progress of our little Osages in 
the different branches taught them. Such arc: 
reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and 
grammar, for the boys; reading, writing, geog- 
raphy, needlework, embroidery, and drawing, for 
the girls. To these dispositions all join a very 
decided taste for music, and find great pleasure 
in singing pious canticles. They are besides, very 
polite, docile, 2nd obedient. As soon as they per- 



J34 FATHER BAX. 

ceive a vviiite, their tirst niuveinent is to go and 
present him their hand. Their sensibility and 
good dispositions have often alleviated the pain 
that we experienced when our means would not 
surfer us to provide for their necessities. 

If it happens that one of the Fathers is absent 
during three or four days, they are on the watch 
for the moment when he is expected. As soon 
as they perceive him, which sometimes takes 
place at a distance of three or four miles, nothing 
can hinder them from running to meet him, and 
crying out: "heather, how are you? how do yous 
do?" 

i'he greater number among them are remark- 
able for truly admirable sentiments of devotion. 
Ffence religion is the most efficacious means for 
correcting the faults usual at their age. The 
most povvcrful rebuke that we can make them is 
to ask them : "My child, when you were baptis- 
ed, did you not promise God that you would be 
good?" Of a considerable number, we may re- 
port great progress in the catechism. Forty have 
made their first communion. These last visit the 
Blessed Sacrament with as much regularity and 
devotion as the most fervent among the faithful. 

The above, Rev. Father, gives us the highest 
consolation. Hardly two years shice, these little 
neophytes were numing naked in the woods and 
on the plains, ad; dieted to every kind of vice, and 
having- no knowledge of their Creator, nor of the 
end of their creation. Never has the goodness of 
God been more manifest to me; never have I 
seen the divine influence more generally felt and 
better p.pnreciated ; never before this day, have 
T been so intimately convinced that the Lord of- 
fers to all nations, to everv family, and to each 
individual . the means of being saved, and of be- 
m^, united to the Holv Church. 



FATHliR BAX. 235 

What happened to us on the day of our arrival 
here, serves as a powerful conhrmation of this 
truth. It was reported to us that an Indian had 
just died in a village about four miles distant. I 
expressed to my informant the grief this misfor- 
tune caused me. He told me that another man, 
in the same place, was at the point of death. In 
the hope of arriving in time to baptise him, I 
set out immediately. Arrived at the place where 
the Neosho divides into two branches, I found 
the waters so swollen that it was impossible to 
pass them, and would be so during several days 
more. 

On the fourth day (it was Sunday), a half- 
blood passed the river on the trunk of a tree, to 
come and hear Mass. I questioned him concern- 
ing the slate of the sick m.an. He had been in 
his agony for four days ; he had ever shown an 
excellent deportment, and had manifested an 
carncsi desire to see the Bla,ck-gow^n, who had 
come to announce the word of God to his nation. 
I mounted n.y horse directely, with some apj-re- 
hension that my guide might delay my arrival. 
In this I was mistaken — he reached there more 
cuickl}- on foct than I on my horse. 

I found my Indian extrem.ely ill 5 evident ly he 
was hastening rapidly to eternity. As soon as 
T entered the lodge, he saluted me with joy and 
affection . I made him comprehend, by means 
of an interpreter, that I came to speak with him 
of the Great Spirit, and instruct him in the 
truths necessary to salvation. "I thank thee, 
Father: thy words are kind and consoling; my 
heart i^ overjoyed that thou hast come." Such 
were the words he addressed me with a dying 
voice. I spoke to him of the dispositions requis- 
ite for receiving baptism, and told him, among 

Ot^'^'^r l-h^nrTQ fVtaf |to i-nnci- rfnOIT'C-'" fi^ ^"hf^ bad 



230 FATHKR BAX. 

actions that he might have committed, be con- 
trite for them, and never again do evil, tho he 
might be restored to health; that if he was sin- 
cerely disposed to act thus, the Great Spirit 
would forget all the sins of his past life. "Fath- 
er," he replied, "1 always wished to be good; I 
never stole, 1 never became drunk, I have never 
killed. However, if I have offended the Great 
Spirit, I repent. 1 desire to please Him, so that, 
if I die, He may have mercy on me, and grant 
me the the grace of being admitted into His pres- 
ence." Fatigued with the effort he had made to 
speak, he kept silence during several moments; 
then, again opening his eyes, he said; "Father, 
if thou believcst me worthy of receiving baptism, 
thou wilt grant me a great favor and many bless- 
ings." Fully satisfied with the lively desire that 
he manifested, I administered that sacrament 
to him. Scarcely was he regenerated in the heal- 
ing waters of baptism, than he expired, and went 
to enjoy the happiness reserved to the children 
of the Church. 

The consoling death of this Indian was follow- 
ed by a most distressing scene. I had never wit- 
nessed demonstrations of sorrow so profound. 
The men, thiowing off that stoical inditTerence 
which api:)ears to be so natural to them, heaved 
deep sighs and shed torrents of tears ; the wo- 
men, with dishevelled hair, shrieked and gave 
all the signs of a despair ov^r which reason can- 
not predominate. I buried the Indian, on the fol- 
dowing day, in accordance with the ritual of the 
Church. The whole village was present at this 
ceremony. The assistants witnessed the atten- 
tion and respect which we pay to the dead with 
a deep gratitude. From that time forth, we have 
always assisted the sick in their agony. The time 
for instructing them is very short, and their ideas 



FATHER BAX. 237 

concerning religion are more than imperfect; 
but, on the other side, they have all the simplicity 
and good-will of children, and their disposition 
is most consoling. 

A few days ago I baptised the oldest man in 
the nation. Impossible to tell you the impres- 
sions I experienced when pouring the holy water 
over that head, whitened v/ith length of years. 
Baptism is one of the sacraments of our holy 
religion that the Indians understand the best, and 
it is the one that they are most desirous of re- 
ceiving. : 

Some incidents, that a few would style provi- 
dential, and others accidental, have contributed 
much to augment (in this tribe; faith concern- 
ing the efficiency of that sacrament. I will cite 
but one example : 

One evening — it was during the autumn of 
1848 — an Indian arrived at the Mission. Grief 
and anxiety were depicted on his face. As soon 
as he perceived me, he said to me: "Father, 
come without delay, for my wife is dying. All 
despair, and 1 consider her already as dead. Thou 
didst tell us to call thee when any one was sick 
or in danger of death. I wish her to learn the 
words of the Great Spirit before she dies. This 
is why I come to call thee." I had just arrived 
from a village called Cawva-Shinka, or Little 
A'lllage, situated thirty m'les from the Mission; 
I was exhausted with fatigue. But how resist 
an invitation so pressing, and above all in a 
circumstance so grave? After a moment of re- 
pose, I set out v/ith the man. Arrived at the 
village at midnight, I found the lodge filled with 
women and children, crying and singing the In- 
dian death-song. I besought them to conclude 
these lugubrious accents, and approached the 
sick woman, extended on a buffalo-hide, and 



238 FATHER BAX. 

scarcely covered with some tattered blankets. 
She was unconscious. As she appeared to me 
noi likely soon to return to herself, 1 resolved to 
remain until morning. An Indian had tlie kind- 
ness to lend me his blanket. 1 wrapped my- 
self in it, and endeavored to take a few hours' 
rest. But it was vain. 1 never passed such a 
miserable night. The women and the children 
recommenced their frightful clamor; the dogs 
of the wigwam passed back and forward over 
me with such steady regularity, that it would 
have been quite impossible for me to count the 
number of visits. About daylight, the patient 
began to give some signs of life ; but she could 
not yet speak. As soon as she recovered her 
senses entirely, I made her a short exhortation. 
She appeared attentive, and gave signs of real 
joy. I ,baptised her, and departed. Two hours 
after my leaving she was perfectly recovered. 
She arose, took her infant, and nursed it. 

Not long after, I returned to the same village, 
and found myself immediately surrounded by 
men, women and children, shouting, unanimous- 
ly, Komko^ — we are very glad to see you. This 
word is used for giving a cordial reception. Af- 
ter recounting to me the fact, and the cure of 
the sick woman, they brought me twenty-five 
children to baptize. "Father," they said to me, 
"we believe thy words. We know that baptism 
comes from the Great Spirit. We are poor, ig- 
norant people ; we cannot read the book that 
contains the word of the Great Spirit: but thou 
wilt explain it to us. and we will believe thee." 
T have h?A very evident proofs of the sincerity 
of their crood intentions, ?nd of their firm resolu- 
tion not to offend God. after having received 
baptism. 

About a month ago, I stopped at an Indian 



fathe;r bax. 239 

wigwam. Its inmates had not been able to go 
on the chase, on account of the illness of their 
little daughter. Her mother told me that they 
were suffering from hunger, and that they had 
not eaten meat for a long time. She added that 
she had seen a stray ox in the forest, belonging 
to a white man, and, that she would have 
killed it had she not recalled the promise that she 
had made at her baptism — rather to die of hun- 
ger, to oitending the Great Spirit; and, that if 
she had killed the ox, the Great Spirit would no 
longer have had compassion on her in her misery. 
This little recital pleased and edified me. I could 
not refrain from reflecting, that the condition of 
the world would be widely different, did all 
Christians remember as faithfully and practically 
their baptismal vows as did this poor Indian wo- 
man. 

So far, we have baptized more than five hun- 
dred persons. One hundred adults and children 
have had the happiness of receiving the sacra- 
ment of regeneration before dying. When the 
Indians are well taught, we have not much to 
fear in regard to their exemplary conduct. The 
greatest obstacle for us is in the difficulty that 
we experience in acquiring their tongue. It con- 
tains very few words, and those quite inconven- 
ient for expressing abstract ideas. These peo- 
ple have some confused ideas of a Supreme 
Being, of the immortality of the soul, of the bliss 
or of the chastisements of the future life; but 
these ideas are mingled with material and super- 
stitious notions. The following is an example: 
They believe that those whom the Great Spirit 
admits into His happy abode will there receive 
an abundance of buffaloes, moose, deer and com ; 
that when a person dies his soul continues to 
inhabit the place in which it quitted the body; 



240 fathi:r bax. 

that souls sometimes return from the other 
work!, to take and conduct there other souls. 
For this reason they fear to travel in the dark, 
especially when any one is very ill; they think 
that then there certainly is some spirit fluttering 
about in the air. Some of their Vig-kontah (jug- 
glers) pretend, on many occasions, to have the 
power of chasing this spirit, and of saving the 
life of the person who is dangerously sick. When 
there is danger of death, the most superstitious 
have frequent recourse to these "medicine men ;" 
a horse, a mule, or even several, must reward 
these services. I know one of these imposters 
wd:io by this trade had gained, in one spring only, 
thirty-two horses. Their efforts tend principally 
to persuading the poor Indian not to call upon 
us in their maladies. They declare, with the 
greatest assurance that they will annul the 
efficaciousness of our power. 

Last spring I went to pay a visit to the Little 
Osages. The day of my arrival, I baptized three 
persons who were dangerously sick ; they died 
the next day. Some days after, a malignant fev- 
er broke out, and proved fatal to many. The 
jugglers attributed the cause of the scourge to 
my presence, declaring that I had annihilated 
their power over the spirits. It is afflicting, but 
also somewhat laughable, to see these jugglers 
endeavoring to drive away the spirits. They 
make themselves as hideous as possible, equip 
themselves with all their instruments and weap- 
ons, discharge their guns, brandish their clubs 
and tomahawks, beat the drum., and have re- 
course, in fine, to whatever can produce a noise* 
in a word, they employ all imaginable tricks to 
deceive those poor Indians. But their power, 
which was formerly very great, is beginning to 
decline. The esteem which the savages had for 



FATHiiR BAX. 24I 

them is daily diminishing. The Indians are at- 
taciied to us, principally, say they, because we 
have no wives and children. "If you had," they 
say, "you would do like the missionaries (the 
Presbyterians j who preceded you, you would 
think tou much of your famihes, and you would 
neglect the red-man and his children." 

I often go and visit them in their villages, and 
I am always received with the greatest civility. 
A crier precedes me, to announce my app-roach, 
\\'hen ihey are all collected in a large wigwam, 
or beneath the wide-spread branches of some 
stately tree, I begin my instruction. They listen 
most attentively. When I have done speaking, 
the chief rises, and addresses his tribe some 
words of paternal advice, and repeats what the 
missionary has said, or makes comments on it. 
One Sunday a chief named Pai-nonpashe, of the 
Great Hill Village, on the Verdigris River, came 
to sec his two children, who were boarding with 
us. A short instruction, which I orave after Mass, 
produced such an impression on his mind, that, 
when returning home, he said to a half-breed 
who accompanied him : "T begin now to discov- 
er what we must do to be agreeable to the Great 
Spirit, and to become happy in this life and in 
the other." 

The excellent health enjoyed by our children 
at the Mission school, greatly astonishes the par- 
ents. Indeed, thus far sickness has been un- 
known among them ; not one of them has died 
since we have been here. This contributes much 
to augment the confidence which the Indians 
feel towards us. and dissipr.tes all their fears 
during- the season of great hunts, in which they 
are obliged to remove from us for several 
months. 

When the frisfhtful ravages caused by the 



242 eATiiHR BAX. 

cholera along the river Kansas, at VVestport, 
and in uUier places, were known here, the Osag- 
es, panic-struck, immediately resolved to go and 
seek their safety on the plains. Some desired 
to conduct their children with them ; but the ma- 
jority opposed it, in the firm persuasion that they 
would be in security under the care of the Black- 
gowns, and protected by the Son of God and his 
Holy Mother. They therefore retired to the 
plains, and left their children with us. They had 
been but a short time in their new abode, when 
the cholera declared itself in the most terrible 
manner, and carried off a great number. Perceiv- 
ing their error in having fled from the Mission, 
they hastened to return, and encamp, as they 
said, quite near the kind Fathers. They conse- 
quently hastened with such precipitation that 
they made no provision, and traveled day and 
night. In proportion as they reached their own 
lands, the scourge diminished. The last case of 
death occurred at fifteen miles from the Mission. 

The greatest difficulties we encounter arise 
from the half-bloods, almost all of French origin. 
They have nothing of the Catholic but baptism, 
and an inviolable attachment to their creed, of 
which, for want of instruction, they know almost 
nothing, and thev practice still less. They have, 
again and again, proved to the Protestant min- 
isters that their efforts to make them change 
their religion were absolutely useless. 

Another obstacle for us is the mode of life 
that the Indians are obliged to lead, in order to 
procure the provisions that are necessary for 
their subsistence. They commonly pass six 
months of the year in the chase, which forces 
them to remove from us, and exposes the mor- 
ality of those who wouW wish to live as ex- 
emplary Christians, to great temptations and 



FATHER BAX. 243 

dangers. 1 hope that this state of affairs will 
change; for many are already convinced that 
they cannot long rely on the game, and that they 
should have already commenced cultivating their 
grounds, had they but the means necessary. 

A deputation of the nation, composed of the 
principal chief, of five warriors, and an interpre- 
ter, went to pay a visit to their "Great Father." 
President Taylor received them with great kind^ 
ness, and encouraged them to commence culti- 
vating their lands. I cannot express to you the 
gratitude that I experienced when I think of the 
truly paternal care lavished on my dear savages 
by their Great Father, and by all the officers 
employed by the Indian department. The sav- 
ages have been greatly flattered by it. I am 
fully convinced that great good will result from 
it. 

This. Rev. Father, is but an imperfect sketch 
of the state of our Mission, in which we hope to 
gather many fruits of salvation, if it pleases God 
that we remain in it. Pecuniary difficulties have 
placed, and still place us in very critical posi- 
tions : but, Rev. Father, the assistance that we 
sornetimes receive from the Propagation of the 
Faith, from some generous hearts and friends of 
the Indians, relieves us. We hope in divine 
Providence for all and in all. "God is faithful." 
Commend us to the prayers of your pious con- 
gregation, and your kind community in St. Louis. 
Reverend and most dear Father, 

Your devoted brother in T^sus Christ, 

J. J. Bax. S. J. 

Father bax's third letter. 

Mission Among The Osages, 

St. Francis Hieronymo, April t8, 1852. 

Reverend and Dear Father: — T desired to 



244 FATHER BAX. 

write to you much sooner, but we have been for 
some time, and are yet, in a terrible crisis. I 
have never witnessed aught like it; yet God's 
gracious will de done. 

About three weeks before the grand solemnity 
of Easter, forty-five children of our boarding 
school fell sick, in an interval of three days and 
a half. At first, we could not discern the nature 
of the malady. It commenced by a heavy cold, 
attended with a burning fever. After four or 
five days, the measles broke out. At first ;the 
alarm was not very great, but the measles disap- 
peared and was replaced by a putrid fever. On 
Passion Sunday, the saddest of my Hfe, we had 
two corpses laid out, and about twelve of our 
children in danger of death. Eleven of our 
scholars fell victims in a short time, and two will 
perhaps speedily follow them. We are obliged 
to interrupt the school for some time, until this 
terrible visitation be passed. The contagion is 
spreading among the Indians, and the mortality 
is very great. It will be difficult to collect again 
the scattered flock. However, I may say, that 
never hitherto, either among people of color or 
whites, cither among persons of the world or 
religious, have I been witness to so much piety 
and fervor on the bed of death, as were exhibited 
by our young neophytes. They may serve as 
models. Some, prompted by their own piety, 
asked to hold the crucifix in their hands, and 
pressed it fervently to them, without being willing 
to yield it. during more than two hours. They 
wished the statue of the Blessed Virgin to be 
placed near the pillows of their beds. They im- 
plored the assistance of their holy Mother, and 
fixed their dying eyes on her image. I firmly 
hope and believe that they already enjoy the 
presence of God. 



:Father bax. 245 

The Lord seems to be willing to gather into his 
garner the little that we have sowed here below. 
What may be the designs of Providence for the 
future, we cannot and dare not conjecture. We 
have lost several of our best scholars, and of 
those on whom we had founded our greatest ex- 
pectations. 

Reverend and dear Father. Your very devot- 
ed servant and brother in jesus Christ, 

J. J. Bax, S. J. 



DEATH OF FATHER BAX. 

The following letter was written by Rev. Fr. 
P. J. DeSmet S. J. under date of April 16, 1855, 
from St. Joseph's College, Ky. to Father De La 
Croix : 

You will undoubtedly be gratified to have some 
news of the mission of St. Francis Hieronymo 
among the Osages, to whom you were the first 
to announce the consolations of the everlasting 
Gospel. The seed of salvation which you plant- 
ed, and which was afterwards neglected, has not 
been sterile. You are acquainted with the dif- 
ficulties of the Osage mission. Being in the 
neighborhood of the boundary line of the L^nited 
States, these Indians learn to adopt, very easily, 
all th.e vices of the whites, without joining to 
them any of their virtues. They forget the 
frugality and simplicity which formerly char- 
acterized them, and give themselves up to in- 
temperance and the perfidiousness of civilized 
life. However, every year a considerable num- 
ber of adults enter the bosom of the Church; a 
great number of children receive baptism, and 
as they often die very young, they are so many 
innocent souls who intercede in heaven for the 



246 I'ATHER BAX. 

conversion of their parents, buried in the gros- 
sest superstition and idolatry of paganism. 

In the spring 1852 an epidemic malady, which 
made great ravages, became for a large number 
(although weakening the power of their nation) 
a blessed occasion of salvation. The violence of 
this disease, against which the Indian cannot be 
easily induced to take necessary precautions, the 
sufferings of the whole tribe, the universal panic, 
the grief — all these miseries presenting them- 
selves under different forms — wrung the hearts 
of the missonaries. X^aught but the reflection 
that Providence had sent this terrible scourge for 
their spiritual good, was capable of consoling 
them. 

During this unhappy year, and when the ex- 
treme violence of the epidemic had ceased, we 
were called to deplore the loss of Father Bax, 
who fell a victim of truly heroic charity, exercis- 
ed toward tlic poor savages, in order to soothe 
their sufferings, and win their souls to God. 
Father Bax was born on the 15th of January, 
1817, in a village near Turnhout, in Belgium. 
The disease, which commenced among the chil- 
dren of themi ssion, sj^read rapidly throughout all 
the villages of the tribe. Father Bax, by his 
knowledge of medicine, and the cures which he 
effected, was renowned throughout the nation. 
The savages came in troops from every side 10 
call him into their camps. It would be difficult 
to form an idea of all the fatigues he was obliged 
to endure. From early morning, after having 
given some assistance to the children of the mis- 
sion school, he woidd go into the environs, from 
cabin to cabin, bearing gladness and comfort in 
his passage. He afterwards would turn his steps 
to the other camps of the nation, to offer them 
the same blessings. To do the last, it became 



FATHER BAX. 247 

necessary to employ several days, and endure 
very heavy fatigue in visiting them. The zealous 
religious administered the last sacraments to the 
dying, baptized the expiring infants, taught the 
catechumens, exhorted, and often succeeded in 
converting, the most obstinate. He performed 
at once the office of physician, catechist, and 
priest. He returned to the house of the mission- 
aries, exhausted with fatigue, only to renew^ on 
the morrow tlie same deeds of charity, braving 
the inclemency of the seasons — the frequent rains 
of spring, the sudden and overpowering heat of 
summer, with the sudden cold which succeeds the 
heat in these sections, at this epoch of the year. 

All this devotedness was not capable of hinder- 
ing the malice of some enemies — let us rather 
say, the rage of hell, irritated at the view of so 
many souls rescued from its grasp. The devil 
invented against the excellent missionary, and 
against the whole mission, a calumny, — extreme- 
ly ridiculous, without doubt, in the eyes of the 
civilized, but entirely in accordance with Indian 
prejudices, su]:)erstition, and credulity. A report 
was spread throughout the camps, the whites 
were the authors of the scourge, the Black- 
gowns rthe priests) had a magical charm, vul- 
garly called medicine, which killed all the 
Indians ; that this charm was a certain book, in 
which they inscribed the names of the Osages. 
and thereby obtained a power of life or death 
over all those whose names the book contained. 
The register of baptisms was meant. They hold 
the superstitious belief that whosoever possesses 
a book, has an absolute empire over the life of 
those whose names are written in it. The cal- 
umny spread from village to village, in all the 
cabins ; as it was propagated, its details assumed 
a darker hue. The malevolent went about exhort- 



248 FATHER BAX. 

ing their companions to attack the mission, say- 
ing that they would arrest the course of the 
malady, if they could attain the destruction of 
the terrible magical charm, by burning the en- 
chanted book possessed by the missionaries. 
This absurd tale was sufficient to engage several- 
parents to withdraw their children from the mis- 
sion school. 

Fortunately, the Black-gowns had influential 
friends among the chiefs of the Osages. They 
went no farther — on reasoning with the most in- 
telligent Indians, they succeeded in appeasing 
their rage and ill-will. The Lord, who permit:? 
the rising of tlie tempest, can calm it at his own 
good time! 

Heaven accorded its benedictions to the ef- 
forts of Father Ba,x and his companions in his 
painful ministry. Of nearly 1500 savages, who 
were swept away by the e]:)idemic, all, with a 
very few exceptions, had the happiness of beuig 
fortified by the last sacraments of the Church 
before dying. Seized, at last, himself with 
symptoms of the illness, Father Bax continued 
his ordinary labors, and dragged himself around 
to visit the sick and dying. His zeal would not 
suffer him to attend to himself. Strength soon 
failed him. He was dying while still laboring! 
He was obliged, at last, to consent to allow him- 
self to be transported about forty miles from the 
mission, to Fort Scott, a military post, where 
one of the most skilful physicians of the United 
States army then resided. It was too late ; all the 
cares of the doctor, proved useless. The good 
religiousi the indefatigable missionary, was a 
fruit ripe for heaven. At the end of six weeks 
he died as he had lived. His last aspirations 
showed still his unfading zeal for the conversion 
of his dear savages. 



FATHER BAX. 249 

During the five years that he passed in the 
missions, he brought back to the faith a great 
number of half-bloods, formerly baptized in the 
Church, but for want of priests and instructions, 
unfortunately perverted by Protestant ministers: 
besides, he baptized more than 2000 Indians, as 
well children as adults, of every age. He in- 
structed his neophytes with the greatest care, and 
the most pains-taking assiduity. His charity had 
so gained the hearts, that all these savages called 
him only by the beautiful word, which in the 
Osage language signifies, "the Father who is all- 
heart." 

His death excited profound regret. His fel- 
low-religious cherished him. and had always been 
edified by his example and his virtues; the 
whites whom lie visited on the frontiers of the 
States, whom he fortified and encouraged in the 
abandonment in which he found them, loved him 
as a protector ; but his loss was especially felt by 
the tribe which he evangelized with so much 
constancy, ardor, and success. 

Some days before his death, Father Bax wrote 
me as follows : 

"The contagion is spreading among the 
Indians, and the mortality is very great. The 
difficulty will be, to collect the scattered flock; 
however, I have the consolation of being able to 
say, that never yet, either among the negroes, or 
among whites, or among religious, or among 
persons of the world, have I ever been witness 
to as much fervor and piety on the bed of death. 
Edifying is the death of which our young 
neoph3'tes have given the example. Some, of 
their own free will, asked to hold the crucifix in 
their hands ; they clasped it without leaving it 
for more than two hours. The statue of the 
Blessed Virgin Vvas to be placed by their pillows. 



J50 FATHER BAX. 

Inipioring tiie assistance of their gch>d Motlier, 
tiiey tixed their d>-ing eyes on her image. I have 
I he strong hope that tliey already enjoy the 
presence of God. The Lord seems to \s'ish to 
gather into his granary tlie httle tliat we have 
sowed here below\ W hat may be the designs of 
his Proviv'enoe for tlie future of our mission, 
we cr^nviot, and we dare not conjecture. May 
Viis hoiy will be accomplished!" 

TirL- is the last lener 1 had the happiness of 
rccei\-ing from Father Bax. 

The Osage nation, like the greater part of tlie 
other tribes of tl\e Great Western Desert, which 
were formerly so numerous and flourishing, is 
rapidly dimishing in numbers. It is now reduced 
to 3000 souls, and divkied into twelve \-illages, 
siniated in different directions around the centre 
of the mission. Ordinarily, the Osages dwell or 
encamp in the \-alleys on the rivers, or near some 
spring of pure and overflowing water. They live^ 
for rre most part, as in the primitive times, on 
:'e " '< and six^ntaneous fruits of the earth, 
they kill in the chase. 
Fathers to \-isit these dif- 
ferent Aiiiages, situated at the distance of fifty 
p-id se%enty miles from each other. The toils 
av: f: : iT^^es of the hoh' ministry there are exces- 
^ The catechimiens must be instructed, the 

ntes sustained, the sick and d>4ng x-isited. 
* - made to convert obstinate 
. y obstacles, so many priN'a- 
:ies, the missionaries find also 

-- - ... s in the fruits which the Lord 

deigns to grant to their labors. E\-er>- year they 
baotize among the Osages about two hundred 
and fifty persons, 

The missionaries alsi-» visit the neighboring 
tribes such as the Oi^apaws. wlio number only 



FATHER BAX. 251 

three hundred and lifty, and of whom one hund- 
red and thirty adults and children have been 
baptized in the course of the two years. Entire 
families have received baptism among the Piorias 
and the Miamis. The Senecas, the Cherokees, 
Creeks, Shawnees, and other nations, situated 
two hundred miles south of the mission, can be 
visited only once or twice in the year. Notwith- 
standing the opposition of Protestant ministers, 
there are some Catholics among all these tribes. 
A great number of European Catholic families 
live dispersed on the frontiers of the States of 
Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, which border on 
the Indian territory now called Kansas. They 
receive, from time to time, the visit and tiie 
spiritual aid of one or other Father of the mis- 
sion of St. Francis Hieronymo. The sight of a 
priest, the happiness of hearing mass, and of 
approaching the holy table, draw tears of joy 
from these excellent children of the church. 
Without these visits they would be entirely 
abandone-1. The destitution of priests is one of 
the principal causes of the delection of thousands 
of Catholics, who gradually lose their faith. 

Two boarding schools have been established 
in the mission of the Osages : one for boys, under 
the direction of a Father and of several brothers; 
the other for girls, under the direction of the 
Sisters of the Loretto, from Kentucky. These 
two schools ordinarily contain more than a hund- 
red Indians chiklren. They teach them die 
elements of literature, with the principles of 
civilization, at the same time that they excite and 
cultivate piety in their hearts. These schools 
encourage the hope, that the day will come when 
these savage tribes may become changed and 
civilized and Christian communities. It will be 
difficult, above all, in these districts, to bring the 



252 FATHER BAX. 

abults to .this mode of existence ; they are too 
much accustomed to the nomadic Hfe^ too proud 
of "their barbarous independence, and frequently 
enslaved to the degrading vices of the whites, and 
to the immoderate use of ardent spirits, which 
they easily obtain by their commerce with the 
latter, and in their frequent visits to the frontiers 
of the States. Each sincere and durable conver- 
sion among these is a miracle of grace. 

The United States government grants to the 
Osages, for the support of their schools, an an- 
nual subsidy, accruing from the sale of their 
lands. This assistance being insufficient, and in 
order to give a striking testimony of attachment 
and friendship towards the Black-gowns, all the 
chiefs of the nation have obtained, by treaty, 
from the government, an augmentation of funds 
destined to the maintenance of the schools; and 
also a liberal donation for making provision for 
the other necessities of the mission. The mission 
owns a farm, which contributes towards defray- 
ing its expenses. With all this, it may be said, 
that the missionaries are still obliged to live a 
poor and hard life, in the midst of many priva- 
tions. Yet is must be admitted, that the mission 
among the Osages is established on a tolerablv 
solid footing. 

W'e give the following extract from the annual 
message of the President of the United States, 
in 1854. The agent of the Osages, in his report 
to the government, speaking of this nation, says: 

"The schools, under the direction of the 
Fathers of the Society of Jesus, among the 
Osages, are very flourishing. These Fathers 
merit great eulogiums for their endeavors to 
ameliorate the condition of this nation. Having 
had the pleasure of assisting at the examination 
of their scholars, I cheerfully add my testimony 




. o 

- o 



FATHER BAX. 253 

to that of others in favor of the method pursued 
in these estabHshments. I doubt whether there 
are any schools in the Indian territory which 
exercise so salutary an influence on the minds of 
the Indians, or that can even be compared with 
them. The pupils progress rapidily in their 
studies ; they are well fed and well clothed, and 
appear happy and satisfied. 

"The Catholic establishment, as well as the 
whole nation of the Osages, have met with an 
irreparable loss by the death of the indefatigable 
Father Bax. The most rigorous season could 
never hinder him from visiting the most remote 
tribes of the nation, when there was question of 
carrying consolation to the sick, and of accom- 
plishing the duties of his sacred ministry." 



CHAPTER XV. 

PRESIDENTS OF ST. FRAI^CIS INSTITUTION. 

Father Adrain Sweere was the second presi- 
dent of St. Francis School at the Mission, suc- 
ceeding Father Schoenmakcrs in July 1876, and 
serving until 1880. He came to the Mission 
from Chicago, 

The following sketch of his life is given by 
Rev. L. J. Kenney, S. J. of St. Louis University: 

"Fr. Adrain Sweere was bom April 26, 1841 ; 
became a Jusuit September 26, 1867; and died 
in Portland Oregon, July, 19 12. I knew Father 
Sweere well. He was a blond, and inclined to- 
ward corpulency, which gave him a look of good 
nature — which he really had. He loved the work 
of the missions and when the Missouri province 
ceased for a time to have missions, he asked and 
obtained permission to be aggregated to the 
Rocky Mountains missions, (now the California 
province.) He was the first superior of the 
incipient college of the Society in Seattle; but 
flying again from the colleges, we next find hira 
alone at Ketchikan, Alaska, with Wrangle as 
one of his stations. This was in 1910." 

Father John T. ^Kuhlman S. J. was the third 
president of St. Francis Institution. He suc- 
ceeded Fr. Sweere in 1880 and served until his 
death in 1887. He is remembered yet by many 
of the older settlers around the Mission. 

Fr. Kuhlman was born at Meisen, Hanover 
Germany, March 15, 1821. He began his 
education at the Gymnasium at Osnabruck, re- 
(254) 



PRESIDENTS Of ST. ERANCIS INSTITUTION. 255 

maining there for nine years. In 1848 he came 
to America, and on March 12, 1849, joined the 
Jesuit order at St. Louis. He studied for three 
years in the St. Louis University and was ordain- 
ed priest in 1852. He was sent to St. Xavier's 
college, at Cincinnati, Ohio, as prefect of studies, 
retaining that position five years. He was next 
sent to Bradstown, Ky., to fill the position of 
professor of chemistry and natural philosophy. 
Next he was sent to Milwaukee, as director of 
St. Gall's school. After three years he was 
returned to Cincinnati as professor at St. 
Xavier's. In 1873 he was sent to St. Stanislaus 
Novitiate at Florissant, Mo., as procurator, hold- 
ing that position until he came to Osage Mission 
in 1880 to become superior of the Jesuit Monas- 
tery and president of St. Francis Institution. 

Father Kuhlman's first big undertaking atj 
Osage Mission was to help Father Ponziglione 
complete St. Francis church, which for eight 
years had made very little progress. He also 
caused to be removed the old log buildings which 
had remained as relics of the days of the Indian 
schools. He labored to build up the schools, not 
only by increasing the number of students, btit 
also by the addition of new buildings and sub- 
stantial improvements. 

Father Kuhlman took a special delight in help- 
ing poor but worthy young men, and there are 
to this day men holding important positions 
whose fitness to fill the places may be traced to 
aid Father Kuhlman gave them in obtaining an 
education. He was a liberal minded man and 
was held in the highest esteem by the people of 
Osage Mission as well as by the thousands of 
pupils who attended the school during his 
presidency. 

A few days before Christmas in 1886, he went 



256 PRESIDENTS OE ST. FRANClS' INSTITUTION. 

east on a business trip. While at St. Louis con- 
sulting his superiors on business matters, he be- 
came seriously ill and died January 13, 1887. For 
some years he had been afflicted with consump- 
tion, and altho suffering constanty, he performed 
the many and arduous duties of his double office 
with a will and without complaining. He was 
buried at St, Stanislaus Seminary, Florissant, 
Mo. 

Father J. R. Roswinkle S. J. was the fourth 
president of St. Francis, serving from 1887 -^ 
August 1889. The college thrived under his 
management. About; this time the Jesuits decid- 
ed to discontinue the school, and Fr. Roswinkle 
being a missionary of remarkable ability, was 
transferred by his order to the missionary fields, 
where he still remains. He is at present regarded 
as one of the ablest missionaries in America. 

Father Boman A, Shaffel S. J. was the last 
president of St. Francis Institution. He came to 
Osage Mission during the summer of 1889 as 
the successor of Father Roswinkle. The Jesuits 
had decided to close their school at Osage Mis- 
sion and Father Shaffel was selected for the 
purpose of closing up the affairs of the order 
and the school and disposing of the property 
owned by the Jesuits. This duty he performed, 
and in June 1891, St. Francis Institution ceased 
to exist. He returned to St. Louis in 1891. 

Father Shaffel was born in Belgium. August 
16, 1838^ and joined the Jesuit order October 3, 
i860. He died at the St. Louis University May 
26, 1908. 



CHAPTER XVI 

OTHER EARLY JESUITS AT THE MISSION 

Father Adrain J. VanHulst arrived at the 
Mission from St. Louis, October 29, 1852, to take 
up the work of Father Bax, deceased. He was 
an active missionary and performed many 
baptisms. In 1853 he made a trip into Jasper 
County, Missouri, where he baptised several 
white people. His work among the Indians is 
well told on page 150. He returned to St. Louis 
October 14, 1854. 

Father Theodore Heimann was one of the 
early teachers in the school. He came to the 
Mission about 1850 but took no part in the mis- 
sionary work. In 1853 he devoted some time to 
parish work and performed a number of bap- 
tisms. He is said to have been one of the best 
teachers Father Schoemakers had and the schools 
made rapid progress under his guidance. He left 
the }^fission in September 1855. 

[Father J. Logan was an active worker at the 
Mission during from the summer of 1857 to the 
spring of 1858. The Mission records show a 
large amount of missionary work performed by 
him during this short time. His health failed 
in 1858 and he returned to St. Louis where he 
died July 4, 1858. His real name was Van 
Lengenhage, but it appears as Logan on the 
church records where he signed it himself. 

Father James C. VanGoch succeeded Father 
Logan at the Mission, arriving AAigust 25, 1858. 
The records of St. Francis church show he was 
(257) 



258 OTHER EARLY JESUITS AT AHE MISSION. 

an active worker in 1859, for during that year he 
officiated at most of the baptisms performed at 
the Mission. He had direct charge of the parish 
work while Father Paul looked after the work 
in the Indian villa,ges at a distance. After the 
civil war he was transferred to Milwaukee, then 
to Chicago. He then spent a few years in Europe 
returning to the Mission in October 1877. 

Father VanGoch was born in Holland, October 
28, 1 83 1, and entered the Jesuit order November 
10, 1852. On August II, 1878, he suffered a 
stroke of apoplexy, but recovered. On August 
24, 1878, he suffered another stroke and died in 
a few minutes. A writer in describing his death 
said : 

"He was not feeling well and stayed in his 
room in consequence. At about 3 o'clock in the 
after noon he was heard singing with much sweet- 
ness and fervor, by those in an adjoining room. 
On their stepping in it was seen that Father Van- 
Goch was laboring under some undue excite- 
ment and he almost immediately passed into an 
apoplectic fit, from which he died in a few 
minutes." He was buried in the Mission 
cemetery near Father Bax. 

Father J. L. Schoensettles labored at the 
"Mission" just after the war. The church re- 
cords show he did much of the parish work in 
1867. He signed his name on the church records 
as T. h. vSettles. 

Father Philip Colleton was among the most 
widely known Jesuits located at the Mission at 
any time while the Jesuits were in charge. He 
was born in Ireland, March 17, 1821. and entered 
the Jesuit order July 15, 1854. He came to 
Osage Mission from St. Mary's, Kansas, in t868 
and not only was active in the parish work but 
he shared with Father Paul the labors in the 



oth:ER early JESUITS at ahe mission. 259 

missionary field, and buik many churches at 
points not far distant. On June 12, 1870 he laid 
the corner stone of a new church at Ladore, then 
a thriving young town in Neosho County, which 
has since ceased to exist. On June 19, he laid the 
comer stone for a church at Montgomery City^ 
then a busy little town not far from In- 
dependence. He built a new church at Walnut, 
Kansas, in 1871, and another at Parsons, Kansas, 
in the spring of 1873. In the spring of 1870 he 
organized a building committee and started a 
church at Oswego, Kansas. 

There is a legend connected with the church 
he built at Greenbush, about ten miles east of the 
Mission. Father Colleton was returning to the 
Mission from a trip to St. Louis, and was riding 
a horse. When he reached the point where the 
Greenbush church was later built, a severe hail 
storm came up. The hail stones or chunks of 
ice that fell were very large and endangered 
alike the life of man and beast. Father Colletou 
tied his horse in a cluster of bushes, and taking 
off the saddle put it over his own head for pro- 
tection. During the progress of the furious 
storm the good father prayed fervently that his 
life might be spared and vowed that if it was 
spared he would in thanksgiving erect a church 
on the spot. Altho his limibs were somewhat 
bruised by the falling hailstones, he suffered no 
serious injuries. He drove a stake to mark the 
place and soon after made good his vow by erect- 
ing a small frame church on the spot. This be- 
came the center of a Catholic settlement, and 
altho it is some distance from any town or rail- 
road, a magnificent stone clnirch with a resident 
priest is now maintained at Greenbush. In 
January 1876, Father Colleton was riding on a 
hand car when he was badly injured. He re- 



260 OTHER EARLY JESUITS AT AHE MISSION. 

covered sufficiently to resume his work, but he 
died December i, 1876, from the result of that 
injury. During the eight years he was stationed 
at the Mission he did a wonderful amount of 
work, the results of some of which are plainly 
evident to this day. He was buried in the 
cemetery near the Mission, by the side of Father 
Bax. 

Brother Thomas O'Donnell S. J. was one of 
the active spirits connected with the Mission 
school for twenty years, and was a great friend 
of the Osages. He came to the Mission 
in 1857 and served in many capacities at the 
school. After the Osages moved to Oklahoma 
■he made several trips each year to the reservation, 
each time bringing back with him a large number 
of pupils for the Mission schools, often bring- 
ing as many as fifty Indian children at one time. 
He continued this work until his death which oc- 
curred at the Mission October 24, 1877. 

Brother O'Donnell was born in Ireland 
December 25, 1820, and entered the Jesuit order 
as a lay brother August 6, 1842. 
' Father William Van Der Hagan S. I. was an 
active little priest who shared the parish work 
at St. Francis church in the early eighties. He 
was born in Holland, January 30, 1843, ^"^^ 
entered the Jesuit order November 3, 1876. 
Little is known of his early life. He was an 
energetic worker and mixed with the people free- 
ly. On July 29, 1885, he rode his horse into the 
Neosho river near the bridge south of the church, 
evidently to cool ofiF the horse, as it was very 
warm weather, and there was a bridge across the 
stream near by. The horse began plunging and 
became unmanageable and the Father laid down 
on the animal and put both arms around its 
neck, but soon after loosened his hold and fell 



OTHER EARLY JESUITS AT AHE MISSION. 261 

into the water. It is believed that the excite- 
ment had caused heart failure and that he was 
dead when he fell from the horse. He was buried 
in the cemetery at the Mission, near Father 
Schoenmakers, with whom he had been as- 
sociated. 

Father Joseph M. Rimmele w^as the last Jesuit 
to leave Osage Mission. After the order closed 
the school in 1891, he was left behind to close 
up the affairs of the order. He Left the Mission 
in August 1892, going ,to Detroit, Michigan, 
where he died April 6, 1893. 

Father Rimmele was born in Germany August 
7, 1 83 1, and entered the Jesuit order July 18, 
1872. He came to Osage Mission in the early 
eighties, to take the position of vice president and 
general manager of St. Francis Institution. He 
was also a teacher of Latin, the college lecturer 
and the prefect of discipline. Altho one of the 
kindest and most amiable of men, he had a 
peculiar faculty of being able to spread terror in 
the minds of those boys who had violated the 
rules of the Institution, and therefore under his 
management, the best of order was always main- 
tained. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ST. FRANCIS' CHURCH. 

"Bui tJiou of temples old, or altars new, 
Standcst alone, with nothing like to thee, 
Worthiest of Cod, the holy and the true, 
Since Sioji's desolation, when that He 
h\orsook his forjner city, what could he 
Of earthly strictures, in His honor piled. 
Of a sub timer aspect^.. Majesty, 
Power, Glory, Strength, and Beauty, all are aisled 
In this eternal ark of icorship undefiled." — Id. 

vSt. Francis Clmrch, at St. Paul, (Osage Mis- 
sion) Kansas, is on.e of the most magnificent 
church edifices in Kansas. As it stands it repre- 
sents the expenditure of nearly a hundred thous- 
and dollars, and is the fulfilment of an idea 
cherished by Fathers vSchoenmakers and Ponzig- 
lione. lender their direction, Wm. Murphy drew 
the plans in 1871. That fall the work of quarry- 
ini^ and hauling the stone began. In the spring of 
1872, the foundation was laul under the direction 
of M. Cavanaugh, and on the 23rd of June 1872, 
the corner stone was laid by Rt. Rev. Bishop L. 
M. Fink, of Leavenworth. 

The Fathers were averse to incurring much 
debt, hence the construction work stopped when 
the funds were exhausted and not much more 
was done on ihe building until 1877, when a lot 
more stone was gotten in readiness. This prep- 
aration was carried on more or less each year 
until 1881 when construction work was resumed. 
^262! 



ST. I^RANCIS' CHURCH. 263 

The walls, except the tower, were completed in 
August 1883. Daniel Zehner and Joseph Doyle 
had charge of this work. The carpenter work 
was completed on June 21, 1884, by Louis 
Scheidler, and J. N. Cutler and John Eisenman, 
his assistants. The painting was done by Louis 
Bohrer. 

The church was solemnly dedicated Alay 11, 
1884, by Rev. J. J. Hogan, Bishop of Kansas 
City. Five thousand people witnessed the cere- 
mony, many of whom had come by special train 
from Parsons and from other points. Father 
Ponziglione, who had done much to aid in the 
construction of the building, was the celebrant at 
the Solemn High Mass on this occasion. 

iln the solidity of its masonry and the strengtli 
and permanency of its general build, this edifice 
has few equals if any in the state. The walls are 
fiom twenty- four to thirty inches thick and built 
of sandstone. Competent judges say they will 
stand for centuries. 

The outside dimensions of the building are 
75x150 feet. The wall at the lowest point is 32 
and at the gable it is 67 feet above the floor. The 
belfry tower is also of stone, 24x24 feet and J,i 
to the top of the masonry, on which three bells 
rest. The upper part of the tower is iron clad. 
The total height of the tower is 134 feet. 

A better idea of .the vastness of St. Francis 
church may be conceived when it is known tluit 
it required 140,000 shingles to cover the roof and 
100 car loads of sand to prepare the mortar with 
which the stone was laid in the walls, and twenty 
car loads more for the plaster. The total cost 
of the lime and sand used in the building was 
$3,980, of the lumber for the tower and the in- 
side work $6,700, nails and hardware used 
$T,6oo. The foundation on which the church 



264 ST. FRANCIS CHURCH. 

Stands cost $7,000, a sum sufficient in itself to 
erect rather a large building. $16,576 was paid 
out for the masons' wages, $4,500 for carpenters' 
wages, and $2,370 for plasterers' wages. The 
doors and windows alone cost $5,800. 

These are exclusive of the altars, statues, heat- 
ing appliances, organ, bells and electrical equip- 
ment. 

The interior of ,the church is in keeping with 
the exterior. C. H. Howard, in 1884, wrote this: 

"Entering the vast structure one is struck with 
not only the massiveness but as well by the artistic 
grace of the work, which bursts upon the vision 
like a beautiful scene in fairyland. The long 
rows of suporting columns on either hand, down 
which one looks as through a vista of years in 
memory's hall, are magnificent specimens of 
skilled work ; while the frescoed ceiling and fine 
arches spanning various spaces and niches are 
marvels of beauty in design and execution, and 
speak elocjuently of the architects and artisans 
who conceived and executed the fair creation." 

If Mr. Howard could visit the St. Francis 
Church of today he would be amazed at the 
wonderful changes that have been made, and 
these changes have but added to the beauty, com- 
fort, and usefulness of this wonderful edifice. 
The great altar, radiant with s])lendor, nor the 
side altars, proportionately magnificent, were not 
there then. Neitiitr were the elegant statues of 
saintly men and of the Holy Mother that now 
adorn the niches of these altars, adding much to 
their beauty, and inspiring the silent worshipers 
who frequently assemble there, to imitate the holy 
lives of the saints these statues represent. The 
three statues on the large altar, representing St. 
Francis Dc Hieronymo, the patron saint of the 
church, and St. John Berchman and St. 



ST. FRANCIS CHURCH. 205 

Alphonsus, were imported directly from Paris in 
1888, and are counted among the finest in point 
of workmanship and art, in the United States. 

Three bells hang in the tower, the largest one 
being the Schoenmakers memorial bell, weighing 
3bOO pounds and measuring forty-six and one 
half inches in diameter. It was blessed and rais- 
ed into its present position December 8, 1883. It 
bears these inscriptions: 

*'S. Francise De Hieronymo Ora Pro Nobis A. 
D. 1883." 

"D. O. M. In menioriam Patris Joanis Schoen- 
makers, Qvi r\lissione Osaginia Fvndata A. D. 
1847. Obeit In Pace Christi Dec. 28, iVlII A. 
D. 1883." 

Jn the gallery is a magnificent pipe organ, a 
marvel for its fine mellow tone, placed there in 
November 1898 thru the eiforts of Father Peter 
Hanley C. P. 

[n the basement is a chapel with a seating 
capacity equal to that of many churches. 

In 1909 this immense building was raised three 
feet and a new foundation put under it, a feat of 
engineering skill at that time considered some- 
what marvelous. 

Should Fathers Schoenmakers and Ponziglione 
gaze down from heaven now upon this grand 
church which they labored so faithfully to con- 
struct, they could not but feel a sense of gratifica- 
tion and pride, and ,they would utter a prayer of 
thanksgiving that the object of their labors had 
been so fully realized and brought to such a grand 
consumation. 

FATHER PAUL WRITES OF ST. FRANCIS' CHURCH. 

St Ignatius College, Chicago, Oct. 28, '98. 
Editor Journal — In reply to your favors of the 



266 ST. FRANCIS CHURCH. 

i8th iiist. 1 enclose with the present an historical 
abridgement of St. Francis Church at Osage Mis- 
sion now St. Paul, Neosho county, Kansas. 

It was in April 1847 that the first Roman 
Catholic Cliurch was opened by Father John 
Schoenmakers in one of the two log houses the 
Indian Department had put up for the use of the 
Osage Alission School, then inaugurated by the 
same Father. But oh how small it was! indeed 
hardly large enough to accommodate the 
(domestics. Fali-e.- Schoenmakers saw at once the 
necessity of building a large one, not only for the 
use of the ?slission, but also of the people forming 
our congregation. As in the woodland close by, 
one could at that time find a great many very 
large trees, so the needed logs having been cut 
down, a building was very soon erected 30x35 
feet wide, arising 16 feet from the ground having 
a roof with a pediment of 10 feet, surmounted 
by a nice cross. The locality chosen for this 
church was the spot of ground now standing be- 
tween the two stC'ne houses, the residence of the 
Passionist Fathers and the school house. 

The size of this structure answered very well 
for a few years, the number of Catholics then 
living about the Mission being rather small. But 
the partial opening of Kansas Territory to the 
white settlers in 1853 '^oon called for some en- 
largement. The news that our Mission was offer- 
ing great convenience for church and school 
privileges had spread all over the country, and 
though the Osage Reservation had not as yet been 
opened, many Catholic settlers came to squat 
along the Indian lands, not very far from us, and 
as the Osages were kind to them, some of these 
vv-t>ul(1 come regrlarly to Mas^"- on Sundays, and 
others would send their children to our schools. 

This state of affairs compelled Father Schoen- 



ST. Francis' church. 267, 

makers to make additions to the ciiurch as well 
as to our houses for the accommodation of strang- 
ers. But the number of Catholic settlers being 
still increasing, more room was needed in the 
church, and the Father returning to work erected 
a large addition in front of it, doubling altogether 
its area, which now became 70x35 feet. 

The best claims near us having been taken up, 
the Catholic settlers began to spread in the ad- 
joining counties, and though these could not come 
to Mass on every Sunday, they would try to come 
once in a while to attend to their religious duties, 
the result being that our congregation kept swel- 
ling, and frequently our church could not afford 
room for all. 

What was to be done? Father vSchoenmakers 
saw that it was useless to make any more ad- 
ditions to it, and that the best would be to start 
the buikling of a large stone church. However 
as it was evident that it would take considerable 
time to realize this very good idea, he thought 
ad visible to put up here and there small chapels 
or Missionary stations, as we used to call them, 
in difterent districts which might be monthly at- 
tended by some of the Fathers of the IVTission ; in 
this way he provided for the convenience of 
those, who on account of distance could not come 
to us. 

The excitement created by the news that Father 
Schoenmakers wa-s going to build a large stone 
church spreading around, brought us quite a 
number of Catholic settlers, especialh^ of good 
mechanics, of whom we were very much in need. 
But whence was the money to come from? The 
only chance we had for getting any. was by ap- 
plying to the old system of making collections. 
The people had not much to spare, but they were 
of good will and contributed liberally. 



268 ST. FRANCIS' CHURCH. 

Between what had been collected at home, and 
in tlie neighboring states, and even in Europe, 
the amount was found to be sufficient to justify 
the Father is setting hand to this great undertak- 
ing. The job was entrusted to Mr. Kavanaugh 
an expert builder. He laid in deep and solid 
foundations, and in a short time brought up the 
work to the water table, showing that the area of 
the church would be 140x70 feet. This done Rt. 
.Rev. Louis U. Fink D. D. O. S. B. Bishop of 
Leavenworth, Kansas, was invited to come to 
consecrate the corner stone, a thing which he did 
perform with solemnity on the 23rd of June 1872. 

But now the treasury was empty, what was to 
be done? Some advised Father Schoenmakers to 
borrow about 60 thousand dollars and finish the 
w^ork, otherwise the mechanics would leave the 
country, and it would be difficult for us to find 
others as good, when the building would be re- 
sumed. Tlie Father after serious consideration, 
concluded to suspend all the work, rather than to 
over-charge the congregation with so heavy a 
debt, which would be a crushing tax on our poor 
people, and this for years to come. 

Meanwhile the several chapels, or missionary 
stations erected in dififercnt districts began to im- 
prove, and in a few years became tlie inicleus of 
rich towns and cities. These small places of wor- 
ship we attended by turn, as regularly as circum- 
stances would allow, to the great convenience of 
our settlers, who in a pressing need, knew where 
to apply for a priest. 

Here I would be .too long if T would give the 
names of all the Catholic settlements that from 
the year 1853 to 1886 were gradually formed by 
families branching out of them All that I can 
state from old records is, that the fathers issuing 
from St. Francis church to the daily multiplying 







FRONT VTKW OF ST. I-RANCIS CHURCH. ig\2. 



? 



ST. Francis' church. 269 

missionary stations, had a very big task before 
theni, and were kept traveling most all the time 
under great difficulties. Their line of excursions 
beginning from the southeast comer of Cherokee 
County, was going as far north as to Miami 
county, from that point turning westward would 
extend as far as to Ft. Larned in Shawnee Coun- 
ty. Next coming down to the counties along the 
state line, having visited these they would return 
to St. Francis church. It was indeed a slow, and 
laboring work, but with great courage they kept 
on, and deserved the honor of having been the 
first priests that brought the good tidings of the 
Gospel in 30 of the counties included in the ter- 
ritory just described. 

Besides they also now and then would visit the 
Indian Territory south of Kansas, forming mis- 
sionary stations at the Indian Agencies as well 
as at the military posts, as far as to Ft. Sill near 
to the line of Texas. 

This being so I hope nobody will blame me if 
I claim for St. Francis church the title of 
Metropolitan Church, because from the year 1847 
to 1886 it has been a prolific mother of churches 
and missionary stations, all together amounting 
to 108; of these 87 in southern Kansas, and 21 in 
the Indian Territory. 

At last in 1883 i^inder the direction of Mr. 
Louis Scheidler the stone work of the new church 
was neatly finished to the roof, with the exception 
of the tower which was stopped at the heighth of 
100 feet from the ground. 

It was the most ardent desire of everyone that 
Father Schoenmakers who had taken so much 
interest in promoting the good of Osage Mission, 
could see the completion of this his last work. 
All wished to see him blessing the new church 
and celebratin^: in it the first ^^.Tass. but it was the 



270 ST. FRANCIS CHURCH. 

will of God, to call him to his reward before the 
roof could be laid over it. He died full of merits 
for heaven on the 28th of July 1883, having 
reached the 77th year of his age. 

The finishing of the new church caused great 
joy amongst the Catholic settlers, who not satisfi- 
ed of having liberally contributed to its building, 
now wanted to have an extra collection to be 
taken up, for the procuring of a memorial bell, 
that for many years to come, might with its 
harmonious peals, call to the mind of the people 
the sweet memory of dear Father Schoenmakers. 
This collection was a financial success. No one 
even Protestants, refusing their mites; yes the 
very full blood Osages from the plains of Okla- 
homa, sent in their rich contribution. The bell 
whicli carries the name of the father on it, was 
cast in St. Louis, Mo., weighs about 3000 lbs., 
and $560. 00 were paid for it. 

Though everyone can but admire St. Francis 
church, people are yet to be found, wlio will make 
objections to its size, saying that it is too large 
for the place. Well this same objection was 
made to the Father when he started the building 
of it. Now to all those who repeat it, I can but 
.give the answer the Father then gave to others. 
The crood Father smiling replied to them, that 
time would answer to their objection. And in 
fact the answer came on the nth of May 1884. 
when Rt. Rev. John Hogan D. D. Bishop of 
Kansas City, Mo. solemnly dedicated the New 
Church to God under the invocation of St. 
Francis De Hieronymo. On that occasion, as 
well as on subsequent ones, the building was filled 
up to its utmost capacity, so that many could not 
gel admission into it. 

This is in short the history of St. Francis 
Church at Osage Mission, f would not be sur- 



ST. FRANCIS CHURCH. 27I 

prised, if here some might say, what is the use 
to talk so much about Osage Mission since it does 
no longer exist, and St. Paul has taken its place? 
Yes I know it has and in my opinion, should be 
proud of it, for it has also taken as an inher- 
itance, a great glory that no other town of south- 
ern Kansas can claim, namely of being the pio- 
neer town of southern Kansas, the first town in 
which a church was erected in honor of God and 
schools were opened for the education of youth. 

Yes as long as the Memorial Bell will stand on 
St. Francis tower, its inscription in clear bronze 
letters will show that Father Schoenmakers was 
the one who built Osage Mission in 1847, proving 
by it that, though he was a Jesuit, he by no means 
was an enemy to progress, on the contrary, was 
a strong promoter of civilization. 

The present condition of St. Paul may not as 
yet be what some might wish. I know it, and 
with many of my old friends must say, that there 
is left room for many improvements. But the 
surrounding country being most excellent, the 
fertility of the soil being inexhaustible, the salu- 
brity of its climate having few equals, there is 
no doubt, that in the near future St. Paul will be- 
come one of the best towns in southern Kansas. 

Long life therefore and prosperity may the 
Lord grant to the town, which though bereaved 
of its primitive name, has not los,t the glory in- 
separable from it, and is as dear to me this day, 
as it was when it used to be called Osage Mission. 
Paul M. Ponziglione, S. J. 

THE OLD LOG CHURCH, 

The old log church at the Osage Mission was 
one of the first churches erected on Kansas soil. 
In fact there was no Kansas when this building 
was first used. Kansas had not even been or- 



;272 ST. Francis' church. 

ganized as a territory when this crude little 
structure was completed in 1847. -^^ first it was 
a small building made of hewn logs with a clap- 
board roof, and "puncheon" floor. The altar was 
"home made." The pews were split logs with peg 
legs. The silent worshipers at first were the 
"red men of the prairies," with an occasional 
white man who had "strayed across the borders 
of civilization." 

The fervor of the Jesuit fathers week by week 
attracted greater numbers of the Osages to at- 
tend the services until the building became too 
small, and it was enlarged by removing one end 
and building an extension, much like two build- 
ings standing end to end with a. jog in the walls at 
the junction to give them strength. With the 
coming of the white man, this too became too 
small and the great St. Francis Church was built 
to take its place. 

Modest as was this little log church it was the 
center of Christianity in Southeastern Kansas 
as well as among the Osages. Sermons preached 
within its walls exerted a powerful influence 
over the Osages. The first were preached in the 
Osage language and the most urgent appeals 
were made to them to lead better lives, and to 
adopt the ways of the Christian. They were not 
without a telling eflfect, as related by the his- 
torians of the tribe. 

This building was torn down in t888 and was 
the last of the old "Mission" buildings to disap- 
pear. This event was considered of sufficient im- 
portance from an historical standpoint by the St. 
Louis daily papers that they gave it prominent 
mention. 

The writer had the privilege of "serving" many 
Masses for Father Schoemnakers, Ponziglione 
and Kuhlman in this old log church. 



CHAPTER XiVIIL 

SISTERS OF LORETTO AMONG THE OSAGES. 

''They had labored for Cod, 
Far from the homes they had loved so zvell; 
And naught was near that they longed to hear, 
Save the sound of the heads and the convent bell, 
When their race was run and their zvork was 

done, 
They passed arufay-tJie true, the brave; 
But God knows best, they nozv find rest 
Near the college home in a lonely grave." 

VV^hen the Jesuits took the contract to educate 
the Osages, it included females as well as boys, 
and this brought Father Schoenmakers face to 
face with a problem. The Jesuits are noted 
educators of boys, but they had had no experience 
with girls, and even if they had. .there were not 
su.fficient teachers among their members at the 
"Mission'' to 'do the work. The Father therefore 
set about to get Sisters to take charge of the 
females at the schools. He told the story himself 
of how "in vain I knocked at all the religious 
homes in St. Louis. None of the inmates couM 
be found willing to come out to the wilds of 
Kansas." A,t last he applied to the Mother house, 
of the Sisters of Loretto, in Kentucky, and in 
response to his request four sisters were assigned 
to the ^vork among the Osages and instructed to 
proceed to the "Mission'' at once. The four who 
came to the Osages in 1847 were Sister Concordia 
Henning, who was appointed superior at the Mis- 
(273) 



274 SISTERS OF LORETl^O. 

sion, Sister Bridget llayden, afterwards known 
as Mother Bridget, Sister Mary Van Prather, and 
Sister Viencentia Van Cool. Sisters Felicita and 
Mary Regis joined them at the ^Mission a year or 
two later. 

These pioneer sisters made the same perilous 
trip from St. Louis the good fathers had made a 
they reached their destination. They were the 
tions and hardships both on the trip and after 
they reached their distination. They were the 
first white women to venture this far into the 
prairie country, the habitation of the Red men 
and of wild beasts. It required great courage to 
make such trip and to face such problems and 
hardships as confronted these four pioneer 
sisters. 

The date of the arrival of the Sisters of 
Loretto among the Osages is said to be October 
5, 1847. They began enrolling pupils for their 
school on October 10. The first pupil enrolled 
was Elizabeth Brond and the second was 
Elizabeth Mitzegge. Eather Schoenmakers, in 
reporting the opening of this school to Rev. 
Eather Van De Wekle, provincial at St. Louis, 
said : Eive female children entered the school 
placed under the care of the sisters. Twenty 
girls are waiting for the commencement which 
is deferred till the 25th of October when it ts 
expected that our goods purchased for their ac- 
commodation shall have arrived from Kansas." 

This was the first boarding school for girls 
having any degree of ])crmanency, established on 
Kansas soil. 

The Indians held the Sisters in the highest 
esteem and were always ready to protect them 
from all harm. It is said that for years the 
Indians believed that the Sisters came down 



SISTERS OF LORE'lTO. 275 

direct from the abode of the Great Spirit for 
their especial good. 

Some of tlie conditions which confronted the 
sisters during the hrst winter may be inferred 
from the following report made by Father 
Schoenmakcrs to the U. vS. Department of Indian 
aflairs : 

''Ten Osage girls have entered the school. The 
reason is because the Indians with their families 
had gone to the hunting grounds before the 
ladies under whose care the Osage female chil- 
dren have been placed were prepared to receive a 
large number. The ladies as well as ourselves- 
have much reason to complain of the buildings* 
They are unfinished and will be too small. 
Major Marvey had ])romised us that the houses 
would be weathierboarded and the ceilings and 
chimneys renewed, etc. Winter has come upon 
us. We must now endure the cold winds of the 
open prairies. We have no means of jjroviding 
for ourselves and .the children. Our only con- 
solation rests in the ^ood ])rogress which the 
children ba\e already made. They begin to 
esteem the treasure of learning and civilization. 
We hope a -ub-agent will soon be ap])ointe(l who 
will immediately execute the good intention of the 
Department. J. Scnokn makers, S. J. 

The v^isters' school had much the same class 
of "ups and downs'' as the boys' school during 
the early clays, ft had its scourge of the measles 
in 1852. an(i had its troubles during the perilous 
times of the bonder warfare and civil war, altho 
the guerillas dirl not at any time disturb the 
property, ft had its battles to fight against 
j)Overty an<l the bleak winds of winter in poor 
quarters. F>ut the brave little band of s'sters who 
had the courage to come into the then wilderness, 
also had the courage to face the problems that 



276 SISTERS O^ LOR^TTO. 

were to come and they did it with a will without 
a murmur, and with a steadfastness that was a 
shining exampl-e to the pioneer settlers who carne 
to iiicuve their homes near the Mission. 

The school was directly under the charge of 
Mother Concordia Henning from its inception 
until 1859, ^^d Father Schoenmakers found her 
services of inestimable value during the times 
when even the courage of sturdy men was sorely 
tried. Thru her influence many of the Indian 
girls were led into the church and the baptismal 
records of St. Francis church show she was the 
God-mother of many of the Indians baptised 
there in the early days. There is however a limit 
to the endurance of the human system and in 
1859, failing health caused Mother Concordia to 
relinquish her position as superior of the school 
to vSister Bridget Hayden who had been her most 
faithful companion, assistant and co-worker from 
the time they started on their western trip to the 
"Mission." Mother Concordia remained at the 
school in a minor capacity until after the opening 
of the civil war, and continued to assist in the 
school and church work. The church records 
mention her as God-mother at a baptism as late 
as October 6, 1861. About this time she went to 
Kentucky and remained there until her death. 
St. Ann's Academy Est.-kblishivd. 

When the white settlers began to arrive the 
enrollment of the schools increased and the num- 
ber of sisters was increased proportionately, until 
1868 when there were eleven sisters at the Mis- 
sion, most of whom were employed in the school. 
Gradually the whites supplanted the Indians in 
the school, and Mother Bridget foresaw a brighti 
future for a permanent academy and in 1870 and 
1871 she had the three-story stone building erect- 
ed that so long served as the main building of the 



SISTERS OF LORETTO. 2// 

academy. This was the first stone biiildiiii: con- 
structed at either of the Mission Schools and at 
that time was the largest stone building in South- 
eastern Kansas. Some years later this building 
was changed to a four-story building by the ad- 
dition of a mansard roof. On September 19, 
1870 the school was chartered under the laws of 
Kansas as St. Ann's Academy. In 1881 the 
second large stone building was erected just south 
of the first. 

i\.n unknown writer in the Neosho County 
Journal, July 1874, in commenting on the w^ork 
of St. Ann's, said : 

**St. Ann's Academy rightly enjoys the 
reputation of being one of the best educational 
institutions in the West. It has from its founda- 
tion in this city, under the able management of 
Mother Bridget, received no inconsiderable share 
of public favor and patronage. 

"Thanks to the enduring energies and sincere 
piety of the humble yet noble ladies, who like 
angelical beings, devote themselves to uproot the 
w^eeds of ignorance and vice, and plant the seeds 
of knowledge and virtue in the youthful mind; 
for these safe institutions in wdiich parents can 
safely entrust their children, and secure for them 
that intellectual and moral training, which their 
best interests in after life imperatively demand. 

"Only a few years ago. in their locality, where 

'Many a flozver zi*a^ horn to blush unseen, 

And zvaste its sweetness on the desert air! 

" And what a transition ! Blest now with one 
of these institutions, famed for developing and 
cultivating the most precious flowers that adorn 
and beautify the face of nature; giving to them 
that culture which distinguishes the enlightened 
from the inferior portions of mankind, without 
which the poor are indeed truly poor, and the 



2/8 SISTKRS OF LORETTO. 

rich by indulging in their animal passions, beconie 
bare like the beasts which they imitate. Many a 
wild fl(;vver has it also rescued from the parching 
and blithing influence of the desert air, to be- 
come after due culture, like the chosen few 
beautiful and superior roses in the garden of the 
Lord, adding sweetness to its enduring aroma, 
and influencing to the better the surrounding- 
element, until transplanted by the hand of the" 
Creator to brighter regions wdiere glorious 
destinies await." 

The academy flourished from the start and 
was eacli year attended by hundreds of young 
h<dies from Kansas and other States. The en- 
rollment on several occasions was near three 
hu'idred. All of the academic branches were 
taught, while music and ])ainting were special 
features which alone attracted many pupils. 

In vSeptember. 1805. the school opened what 
promised to be the most flourishing year in its 
history — but alas, the hand of fate was against it. 

Ou Tuesday, September 3. 1895, ^^ ^o ^- ^• 
flames were discovered coming from that part of 
tlie building occupied by the kitchen. 

The volunteer fire briga^lc responded quickly 
to the alarm but it was soon seen that their efforts 
would count for little. The Parsons fire company 
came w on a special train anrl joined the fight 
a.eainst the flames. The buildings however, were 
doomed and in a few hours what had cost $75,000 
in motley and many years of labor was a mass of 
smouldering ruins, with only Si6,ooo insurance 
to cover the loss. Those were the days of a 
financial' stringency in this country and so great 
a Joss at such a time was a staggering blow. 
Mother Catherine, the superior of the order then, 
disbanded the school and sent most of the Sisters 
to other points. An effort was made to get the 



SISTI:RS of LORETTO. 2/9 

school rebuilt, but the final decision was that the 
order leave St. Paul until a more favorable time 
and in 1896, the remaining Sisters departed. In 
1897 another effort was made to revive the 
school, but this too failed. However, many of 
the Sisters still had a longing to go back to their 
old home and the people were always anxious 
to have them return, tlnis the sentiment to return 
was always kept alive both within and withotit 
the order. 

In June 1914, the Sisters of Loretto definitely 
decided to return to St. Paul (Osage Mission) 
but it was not until August 24, 191 5, that they 
again took up their abode there. On that day 
eight sisters arrived, viz : Sister Columbiere as 
superior, and Sisters Coaina, Carmela, Rose 
Teresa, Francis Xavier, Angeles. Joachim and 
Vera. They took their positions as teachers in 
the parish schools at the opening of the term a 
few days after their arrival 

The Sisters of Loretto have announced their 
intention of rebuilding the academy but have 
been delayed because of the financial conditions 
resulting from the European war. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

MOTHER BRIDGET. 

"She felt in her spirit the summons of grace 
That called Iiier to live for a suffering race; 
And, heedlcs of pleasure, of coin fort, of home, 
Rose quickly like Mary, and answered '7 come.'' 
She put from her person the trappings of pride, 
And passed from her home with the joy of a 

bride. 
Nor wept at the threshold as onward she moved — 
For her heart zvas on fire in the cause it ap- 
proved." 

— Gerald Griffin. 

Mother Bridget Hay den was the only one of 
the four sisters who came to the Osage Mission/ 
in 1847 who was well known to the white people 
who came later. Mother Concordia left the 
Osages in 1861, when there were few white peo- 
ple located on the Neosho, ansd the records of 
her work were destroyed when the academy burn- 
ed. Sister Bridget Hayden became "Mother" of 
the convent at the "Mission" in 1859 when 
Mother Concordia resigned because of poor 
liealth, and retailed that position until her death 
\\] i8()0. During her reign as Mother the country 
settled up rapidly and Osage Mission reached its 
I>innacle. 

St. Ann's academy was chartered by her, and 
all the big buildings were erected under her 
directions. The fame of St. Ann's spread fat 
and wide and girls came from far and near to 

(280) 



MOTHER BRIDGET. 28 1 

this fountain of knowledge to receive that 
mental and moral training so necessary to a suc- 
cessful life here on earth and an eternal reward 
in the world to come. 

Margaret Hayden was born in Kilkenney Ire- 
land in 1 81 4. When only six years old, she came 
with her parents to America and located near 
Perryville, Mo. She grew up at this place and 
remained there until her 27th year when she 
entered the convent of the Loretto Sisters at 
Old Bethlehem. In 1842 she renounced all 
worldly advantages and "took the veil" of an 
humble "Sister of Loretto at the Foot of the 
Cross," as Sister Mary Bridget. This event oc- 
curred at St. Vincent's Academy at Cape 
Girardeau, Mo. Later she was transferred to 
Loretto, Kentucky, where she was stationed 
when she answered the call of Father Schoen- 
makers and came to the Osages on the Neosho in 

1847- 

What the ^iission was in those days is best 
told in the letters of the early Jesuits elsewhere 
in this book. The privations that these pioneer 
women suffered on the bleak prairies can scarcely 
be conjectured by the people of today. Only 
those who have tasted such a life can know it or 
realize it. But Mother Bridget had devoted her 
life to the "Master" and. had freely answered 
His call to carry the blessings of Christianity and 
civilization to the aborigines of the plains. Faith- 
ful to her vows, she set about with a hearty will 
doing the work laid out for her. Osage girls who 
had roamed the prairies in scant attire were 
gathered into the schools and not only taught the 
elements of education, but were also trained to 
make their own clothing after the style of the 
whites and to become modest, and refined young 
w^omen, imbued with a desire to lead honorable, 



282 MOTHE:r BRIDGET. 

Christian lives. Ask any of the younger women 
of the Osages today who taught their mothers to 
pray, civiHzed them, taught them all domestic 
arts and virtues, they will say at once, Mother 
Bridget and the sisters. In fact her name was 
for years, and is to some extent yet, a household 
word among the Osages, and they loudly bewailed 
her death. Mother Bridget and her associates 
did for the Osage girls what Father Schoen- 
makers and his associates did for the Osage boys. 

When Osage Mission ceased to be an Indian 
reservation and when the red men and their 
families moved their wigwams from the beautiful 
Neosho valley they loved so well, Mother 
Bridget's labors among them ceased only in part- 
She enlarged the buildings and opened St. Ann's 
Academy and many of the Osage girls came each 
year to attend the school. 

John R. Brunt published this tribute to ^Mother 
Bridget on February 6, 1890: 

"For over forty yeary Mother Bridget labored 
in the field of education, and thousands brought 
under her influence will rise at the last day to 
call her blessed. How many a poor priest in the 
scattered country missions of days gone by could 
tell of the generous aid and friendly hand reach- 
ed out to help in their needs, and to make up 
what was wanting in their altar furniture. No 
"Tabericcil Society" then existed in Washington, 
but Mother Bridget's heart supplied its place in 
Kansas, lender the fostering care of this admir- 
able woman the once poor Indian school has been 
replaced by a prosperous academy, and the build- 
ings erected aixl improvements made by her are 
now worth eighty thousands dollars. 

"A community of twenty-five sisters now suc- 
ceeds the four sainted pioneers of forty-three 
years ago. In t886 the handsome chapel, the 



MOTHER BRIDGET. 283 

pride of the convent, was erected, and just last- 
year the academy proper was enlarged and im- 
proved. All these are monuments to her untiring 
energy and zeal in the cause of Christian educa- 
tion ; but her charity, no one will be able to count 
the thousand deeds and the benefits she has 
scattered thruout the country with such a lavish 
hand. No poor church ever applied to her for 
alms without a generous response, no begging 
letter was ever left unanswered, no orphan ever 
appealed to her in vain, and God seemed to bl-ess 
and multiply her store, otherwise she would have 
had to stop. Of her kindness to the sisters and 
pupils, their grief and heart-rending cries over 
the grave of their mother speak more eloquently 
than pen or tongue. If the Almighty so lovingly 
rewarded "a cup of cold water given in His 
name," how superabundant will be the reward 
of tlie half-a-century of faithful service rendered 
Him by the lamented Mother Bridget. Among 
the distinguished names of the pioneers of Kan- 
sas, Mother Bridget Hayden is certainly deserv- 
ing of a prominent place." 

Margaret Hill McCarter wrote a sketch of 
Mother Duchesne and Mother Bridget, from 
which the following is taken : 

"To this Osage Mission one sweet October 
day in 1847 came a mother superior, Bridget 
Hayden. No she wasn't a French woman, nor 
Spanish, nor Italian. She was plain Irish. With 
some Sisters of Loretto from Kentucky, she came 
to spend the last forty years of her life in Kan- 
sas. She established at once a boarding school 
for girls where soon both white and red came to 
learn of lier. Far beyond the limits of Kansas 
the name of St. Ann's Academy was spread and 
inside its walls many a young girl was educated. 

''Mother Bridget saw the history of a common- 



284 MOTHER BRIDGET. 

wealth unfold. She came seven years before the 
beginning of the territorial record. She saw the 
evolution into a state. She saw that state 
struggle thru its days of border strife, its days of 
rebuilding after warfare, its mastery of the 
desert and the steady march to occupation and 
wealth. From her cloister window she watched 
the prairie grasses turn to wavering wheat shut 
in by walls of corn. She saw cities rise where 
only bleak waste had been, and a state grow 
powerful that was once an Indian hunting 
ground. And what was she doing thru all these 
forty years ! .Vinong all our noted list, Kansas 
has no more dignified and honorable name than 
hers. 

"We are prone to think the Indian problem is 
solved. It is not. Generation after generation 
must pass away before the last drop of Osage 
blood in amalgamated lines shall be lost. The 
future of the remnant of this once great tribe, its 
influence in the middle west, is a story yet to be 
written. In the years gone by it was never the 
government that controlled it so much as the 
church in its broad reach of influence. What the 
Osages did or refrained from doing can oftenest 
be traced back to the character of the red man 
as shaped by the good influence of the white 
man's civilization. Think you this commanding 
white haired woman who spent the best years of 
her life among them, had no sway in the course 
of events for them ? Think you her record will 
not shine out one day when the great reckoning 
is done? The record of a real mother superior 
in her intelligence, her consecration, her executive 
power and her sweet loving sympathy. These 
things are not lost. They come forth again and 
again shaping the lives of children and children's 
children. 



mothe:r bridge;t. 285 

'It is just and praiseworthy to bestow honor up- 
on the memory of these two noble women — 
Mother PhiHppine Duchesne and Mother Bridget 
Hiayden — who gave themselves for His sake, who 
said: "Greater love hath no man than this: 
that a man lay down his life for his friend." 

Mother Bridget continued her active life even 
alter she had passed the allotted age of ''three 
score and ten." She was blessed with good 
health up to within a few days of her death, 
which occurred at the academy January 23, 
1890, congestion of the lungs being the direct 
cause of her death. She died as only saints can 
die, praising and blessing God that her crown was 
so near and her exile so near its close. 

In the account of her death the Neosho County 
Journal said : 

"To the few privileged to kneel around her 
couch, it was an edifying spectacle to behold the 
heavenly peace and hope which illuminated her 
countenance when she was assured that her end 
was near. Burning ejaculations of love and 
praise and thanksgiving escaped from her heart 
of hearts, and with unfaltering voice she once 
more repeated the three vows of Poverty, Charity 
and Obedience, by which fifty years before, she 
had bound herself to follow Jesus in the thorny 
path of self-denial A moment later and she 
beheld Him face to face. One of the most re- 
markable women that ever yet set foot on the 
soil of Kansas, passed away from earth. 

"The Mother General of the Loretto Sister- 
hood and a companion came from St. Louis to 
attend the funeral, and hundreds of people of 
the Mission and from neighboring towns, to ?M 
of whom the name of Mother Bridget is a house- 
hold word, gathered around her bier in the 
spacious chapel, to get a last look at the motherly 



286 MOTHER BRIDGET. 

face, which until the great tlav of the Resur- 
rection, they never might behold again. She was 
interred on Friday evening January 24th in the 
quiet graveyard of the convent amid the sighs and 
tears of many who will miss for years to come, 
the great heart which is now at rest." 

"To live in the hearts we leave behind, is not 
to die." 

A TRIBUTE TO MOTHER BRIDGET. 

Milwaukee, January 28, 1890, 
John R. Brunt, Esq., 

Dear Sir: — Your favor 'of the 26th inst. 
came this morning. All that I can say in reply 
is that I first got acquainted with Mother Bridget 
in the summer of 1851, when I reached Osage 
Mission, and since that day I saw in her but the 
same enterprising, intelligent and devout lady 
she proved herself to be all her lifetime. The 
good mother had an untold amount of labor and 
suffering, which she might well have avoided, 
but she taxed herself willingly with them for the 
sake of the j)oor Indian girls entrusted to her 
care, she did all the tim- show herself a mother 
to them, and indeed a most affectionate one. All 
her energy was devoted to remove from them 
their evil and wild habits, and remould as it were 
their hearts, exciting in them most pure and noble 
aspirations, in a word trying to infuse in them 
a part of that great love of God of which her own 
heart was full, and praise be to truth, successful- 
she was in a great part ; I say in a great part, for 
it is not presumable that in speaking of the educa- 
tion of wild children, one may change or better 
the nature of all those who are brought to be 
educated, but in spite of all this she always had 
a powerful influence over them all, even the most 



mnwiffffniifflfflg 



MOTH^ BRIDGET. 28^ 

wild, whom if she could not correct, at least she 
kept from becoming worse. 

The knowledge and culture, which through 
her indefatigable care was imparted to the Indian 
girls she did save is now producing its fruits, in 
the intelligence, good manners, cleanliness, and 
religious spirit, which this very day can be no- 
ticed in the many Osages half-breed Indians at the 
different nice settlements that nature has formed 
in the Indian Territory. The lady-like behavior 
which those once her pupils do show at present is 
the evidence that her labors were not lost. 

Of the local temporal fruits of her enterprising 
spirit I do not need to say any thing. The splen- 
did buildings and elegant grounds of St. Ann's 
Academy 3])oak for themsel /es, and are ilvmg 
monuments of the great genius she had and show 
how able she was for the charge of superior she 
held for so many years over her flourishing con- 
vent. 

She is now gone ! May her beautiful soul rest 
in peace. TTer remains shall moulder in the con- 
vent cemetery, but her memory alive shall last 
for many years to come, and her name shall be 
a home name to a great many not only in Neosho 
county, but away in the Indian Territory and 
from both ])laces for many years loving ones 
will pronounce her name with gratitude, and 
devout hearts will offer np fervent prayers for 
her soul. Respectfully. 

Paul M.' PoNzTrri.ioNE. S. J. 



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